Scorch Marks
by that guy who wrights
Summary: Years ago Wiess made a choice that she has regretted ever since, and now a visit from some old friends will give her a chance to make it right. A combination of Funlade's Future AU, Ailtern's Falling Petals AU, and Machinekey's Company Woman AU. First fanfic.
1. Prologue

August Schnee was troubled. He sat in a chair in the far corner of the room, but even here he couldn't avoid the idiots in his family trying schmoose there way into his good graces. But that wasn't what was troubling him. It was the look that, in recent years, had been permanently set on his daughters face. It seemed to start the day he told about the marriage arrangement he had set up between Wiess and the son of a competing company. It had made Schnee dust the only name in both dust mining and advanced technology. But it seemed to have cost his daughter dearly.

She never smiled. She only sat there, a near permanent frown etched upon her beautiful face, and it hurt. It hurt to see her so sad, just like it hurt to see her crying after every lecture he gave her about being perfect for their families company when she was growing up. He regretted it each night afterwards, in his bed when it was just him, his sleeping wife, and his thoughts. He didn't mean to make her cry, but he always managed to come up with an excuse for why she needed to be lectured. He didn't mean to demand perfection, he knew it was impossible, and the Wiess tried harder than anyone he had ever seen to achieve it. But what did he give her for her efforts? An undoubtedly unwanted husband and another lecture about how she needed to produce an heir. But little did he know he would soon have a chance to make things right, when a beautiful blonde and her faunus wife marched onto the gala entrance, an angry frown etched upon her face.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Hey guys! So glad for the reviews I got from you, and I wanted to thank you for that! Now on to addressing some of the issues from my last chapter. They're all not going to be short, but I have a full time job, as well as other responsibilities, so updates will be few and far between. I will try toget them out ASAP, but I can't confirm any kind of schedule. Now to sum up the AU's I am combining so that no one is lost. Here goes: the Future AU, by Funblade and Amipai, is actually well known in the community so I feel that I don't have to give explanation, and I will be sticking to the pairings in that AU. The Company Woman AU has Wiess choosing the company over Ruby, and going along with her fathers plan of an arranged marriage. The Falling petals AU sees Cinder falling in love with Ruby, kidnapping her, drugging her, and brainwashing her so that she loves Cinder, and she has no memory of her previous life aside from a white haired girl whom she dreams about. Now on with this story.

Wiess frowned, looking down upon her _husband_, as he passed out drunk at yet another party. While she was happy that would be to out of it to try and get her into bed with him tonight, it was still an embarrassment to Schnee industries when the so called CEO was yet again making a tremendous fool of himself.

Why was she fated to be nothing more than a tool for the SDC to gain more power? She ran the company from behind the scenes far better than her _husband _ever could. That was if he was sober enough to do it. She despised him. From his personality to his very touch. If it weren't his father building Vale's largest tech company, he would have amounted to nothing in life, of that she was certain.

The party was a large affair, almost 200 people, yet the ballroom that the SDC had rented out held more than enough room for each and every person. Even this party she organized without recognition.

"Mrs. Schnee," said one of the servants knowing that she still refused to be called by her husbands last name, to the point of ignoring anyone who called her as such. "The liquor stock is running short ma'am, what should we do?"

Wiess looked up at the servant from her seated position "well what do you think you fool? Simply go to the nearest pub and replenish the stock!" she said with a frown. _Some people are such dol- _she would finish that though. That name no longer held any negative connotation in her mind. It only made Wiess to think of _her_, the one person Wiess wouldn't, _couldn't _think about, because it still hurt so much.

"Mrs. Schnee?" the same servant reappeared after a short while. "Mrs. Schnee the owner of the only bar in town with enough liquor to fully restore our stock is rather insistent that she see you promptly ma'am."

"Well then send her to me at once! Let's get this over with so we can finally put this issue to rest." Wiess said with obvious annoyance in her voice.

"Of course ma'am. May I Introduce the Mrs. Yang and Blake Belladonna-Long." Wiess froze in place. Those names were ones she thought she would never hear again. She didn't even question the fact they were married, or that they owned a bar. They both seemed obvious, really. What concerned her, however, was the _she _may not be far behind if Yang and Blake were here.

Both anticipation and dread clutched at her mostly frozen heart as she saw Yang and Blake approach. Fear came into play when, as they came closer, cutting through the crowd, Yang's eyes turned red from their usual lilac. Blake's comforting hold on her hand seemed to be the only thing keeping her from charging Wiess.

But what was at the forefront of her mind was what she would say. Yang had every right to be angry. She had made a selfish choice and hurt _her_ in the process. That was something she regretted every single solitary day of her life. She didn't have much time to think of anything to say as they finally reached her.

"Hello, traitor." Yang said with contempt dripping from every syllable. Blake, however, was far more calm and collected, but with a sad look in her eye. "Yang." she said, "if you're not able to calm down then please let me do the talking" Yang looked at Blake, anger plastered on her face, but as she looked into her eyes Wiess could see her eye color shift back to her usual lilac.

"I'm sorry Blake."

"I Know"

"If she was there-"

"I know"

"I miss her so much!"

"I do too, Yang." Said Blake, her voice breaking on the last part.

"Glad to know I'm missed." Said Wiess, being around her old teammates bringing out some of her old self.

"we weren't talking about you, Wiess" Blake said, the sad look upon her face worsening.

"then wh-"

"Wiess, my daughter, who are these people? They're not like our usual guests." Her father interjected, bringing himself into the conversation.

"Father! These are my old teammates from Beacon. Yang and Blake"

"I see. And what business bring you too this party." Said August, his interest genuinely peaked.

"They are here to-"

"Wiess, how many times have I told you, speak when you are spoken too!" her father near shouted at her.

"yes father." Wiess muttered dejectedly.

"Still your fathers lapdog, eh Schnee? You know if you were there for her where you belong then none of this would have happened!" Yang cried out, her eyes shifting back to red.

"what are you referring too?" Wiess said worry in her voice. She begged and pleaded internally that this wasn't what she thought.

"Wiess," Blake said. "Ruby's dead"

Wiess screamed.


	3. Chapter 2

August watched as his daughter lay on the floor, weeping. No, weeping wasn't the right word for it. It

was like she was in literal, debilitating pain. But, as much as it hurt him to do this, there was a crowd

forming around Wiess, wondering what was wrong, filling the room with hushed whispers as they talked

amongst among themselves. They stopped all at once however, when August began to make his way

through the crowd to pick Wiess up into his arms and making his way out of the room, he beckoned the

two girls that had been speaking with Wiess to follow. As they neared the entrance to the building, a

limo pulled up in front of them, the powered doors opened as August neared them. With a word to the

driver they were off to a private location to speak.

Deciding that the vehicle would not be the best place to have what he could tell was a very important

discussion, he chose to have the driver take them to the nearby Schnee estate, where his home office

was, and where the best place to speak would be. The other two chose not to break his silence, each

keeping an incredibly close proximity to the other. He was unsure if this was for the best however, as

now the only audible sound was his daughters cries of sheer agony, along with occasional uttering of

"no" before more crying. He had never seen her so helpless, vulnerable. It almost made him break down

and cry as he listened to her weeping as he still held her, each needing something, _someone_ to hold

onto to keep from losing themselves in their respective pains. As the neared the house, he finally spoke.

"my office is close to the front of the estate. Follow me." While he was unsure if these 'friends' of Wiess

had meant her any harm, the blond showed a clear and unfiltered animosity towards Wiess, and while

the other was much more collected and near unreadable to him, what stood out most to him were the

cat ears on her head. His war with the White Fang made him wary around any Faunus, despite the fact

that even he knew it was beginning to border paranoia. They made their way into house, up the large

staircase, and into his office. Shutting the door behind so as to avoid eavesdroppers, he set his daughter

down on a nearby couch and then turned to the young couple that had followed them in and began his

quest for answers.

"Now, lets start again with who you are, how you know my daughter, and why this 'Ruby' dying is

causing her so much distress." He said, concern evident on his face as he glanced back to his daughter,

still lying on his couch whimpering as he said the last word.

The two young women looked at each other before the faunus spoke up. "we were Wiess' teammates at

Beacon. Ruby is- was our team leader, and Wiess' partner." She said, her voice cracking when she had to

correct herself.

This answer confused August more than it did help him. "I can understand her being upset by the loss of

a friend, but Wiess has lost loved ones all her life because of your kind. Why should one more person

she knows winding up dead affect her like… this?" He couldn't help the cruelty in his tone when he

brought up the faunus. As much as he was trying to remain civil, it was hard when something he had

been angry at constantly for years on end was in the same room.

If the girl was offended however, she didn't show it, whether it be because of the situation with her

dead friend or she was just used to it, he couldn't say. The blond, however, looked like she wanted to kill

him, her eyes shifting to a blood red and her hands beginning to glow yellow as flames sprouted from

them. One calming look and an affectionate kiss to the cheek from the faunus however, and the blond

was calmed. Not only did this put him at ease but it confirmed his suspicions about the nature of their

relationship. Now that the brute had calmed down, the faunus continued.

"Wiess and Ruby…. they weren't just teammates." She looked down at the girl currently sobbing into

one of the couch pillows with pity clear in her eyes. "They were in love…"

At that moment, everything became clear to August. His daughters sadness. the tears he had convinced

himself were those of joy at her wedding. Her hatred of him. All of it was clear, and in that instant the

well constructed façade of apathy toward his daughter crumbled.

Elsewhere in an abandoned hospital somewhere in Vale…..

"She abandoned you! She didn't love you!" a woman's voice echoed through the halls, a strange mix of

apathy, cruelty, and sadness mixed in her voice.

"She did. I know it! She didn't want to leave!" a younger woman's voice followed, pain evident in her

voice, though weather emotional or physical, it was impossible to tell.

"Fine." The first voice almost sighed. "It's clear to me that if you're to be mine, then I'll have to get _her_

out of you precious little head."

"NO!" the first voice shouted, as sounds of a struggle echoed through the hospital. "anything but that!"

she cried. "I'll be yours, just let me have my memory. I don't want to forget her. I'll do anything so I

don't have to forget her." The captive sobbed.

Cinder fall frowned as she looked with pity upon her captive. She wished she didn't have to hurt her, but

it was necessary. "I'm sorry Little Red, but if you're to be mine, then we have to erase any bit of your

previous owner. I'm doing this out of love, my Little Red Riding Hood."

She inserted the needle into Ruby's neck, and tears began to fall when she saw the look of sheer _agony _

on her prizes face.

As usual I do not own RWBY, that's Roosterteeth, or the AU's associated with this, which blong to Funblade, Machinkeys, and Ailtern. Sorry that it took me so long, I'm still trying to find a schedule to sit down and work on this, but with the Destiny Beta out for PS4 what little free time I have is pretty much taken, but I'll still be trying my best to work on this fanfic for you. Also PLEASE review. I need to improve as a writer, that's very clear to me, but I can't do it without your feedback. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 3

Wiess had finally calmed down, finally accepted it. This was the end of any hope she had. She knew all these years that Ruby wouldn't come for her. Wouldn't rescue her from her lonely painful life, not after she had told her that her marriage is what would make her happy, but the idea that there was someone out there that loved her as she was without wanting anything in return, willing to sacrifice anything for _her_ without a thought gave her hope.

A hope she held onto with all her being, And now that hope was gone, as dead as the person who had kindled it. And it was Wiess' fault. Not directly, and she vowed to find the one responsible and end them, but she had promised Ruby that she would be her best teammate, and then left her, knowing the dangers of a career as a huntress.

Wiess, at last ready to speak looked up at the other people in the room and for the first time noticed the awkward silence that had fallen across the room.

Her father was looking at her with regret, an emotion she rarely had seen on his face, though it had grown more and more common in recent years. Blake was waiting for him to speak, clearly having said something to him, something that affected him greatly.

While she did this, she absentmindedly stroked Yang's back, who busied herself with adjusting her gear and playing with her hair, just to avoid the awkwardness. Wiess decided to that someone needed to disturb the silence and began to speak, but her father interrupted her before she could.

"Why are you here? Just to throw insults at my daughter? It wasn't her fault your friend passed." he said, anger and hurt evident in his voice, though at who no one could say but himself.

Blake looked to Yang who then spoke, surprisingly calm, especially for yang. "Wiess has an entire page dedicated to her in Ruby's will, and she needs to know the day of the funeral."

"What makes you think she will agree to go?" her father said, interrupting her yet again. Yang's response this time was more typical of what to expect from her.

With her eyes flared red, and her semblance blazing around her, she shouted "Because Wiess owes Ruby so much that the least she could do is show up. So she'll be there if I have to drag her there myself!"

Wiess stood up just as her father was about to reply. "There is no need for that yang. I would honored." she said as evenly as possible. In truth, however, she was torn. On one hand, she _did_ owe ruby a debt that she could never repay. Their years together were the happiest of her entire life and now she could never have that happiness again.

On the other hand, she wasn't sure she could face her old friends again. She failed to see an encounter with Nora going well, and she didn't want to imagine how her other friends would look at her. She was surprised she even still considered them her 'friends'. Surely they can't extend her the same courtesy, and the most certainly must hate her after how she left.

Her father looked at her a bit surprised, but then looked to Blake and Yang. "If you have any further business here, speak now. If not, please leave, and leave me to speak with my daughter."

Blake looked at Wiess with pity clear in her eyes. The look Yang gave her, however, was diferent. It wasn't the hate filled expression Yang had plastered on her face when they first reunited earlier that night, nor the look of sympathy Blake had given her.

These emotions were there, but there was also something else, something familiar that she just couldn't place. But before she had time to speak to either of them her father had practically shoved them through the door, before shouting at his servants to show them the way out _promptly_.

He then turned to Wiess, looking more tired than she had ever seen him before. Not just physically tired either, but emotionally tired. He was looking at Wiess with more pain in his eyes now than any other time that she could remember.

"It would seem we have some things to discuss." He said, exhaustion growing more and more evident with every word.

"I don't see any reason we should talk. This is a personal matter I will attend to on my own time." Wiess said, just wanting to be left alone, yet unable to speak anyway other than the polite way of speech that had been ingrained in her from the time she was a child.

"Wiess I am sorry your…. _friend _has past away, and I'm aware that I've wronged you, horribly, and that in the past I was not what most would consider a good parent. Even the word parent is not something I'd use to describe myself regarding you, but I still love you, you're still my child, and I feel it necessary to be there for you. I _need _to do this." He said, still as cordial as ever, even though he was very clearly uncomfortable speaking with Wiess on anything resembling a personal level. But to him that just showed how much of a failure he had been as a father.

Wiess was about to respond when a new voice was heard. "I don't think that she needs _your_ comfort, _father_." Said her younger sister, Winter Schnee , speaking from the now ajar door to August's office. She bore a hard look of anger towards him.

Ever since her sister had tracked Wiess down one night almost a year ago, having seen her alone and crying the night before, and asked Wiess why she seemed so depressed whenever Winter saw her, despite being given so much, Wiess, who had been alone for far too long now without anyone to listen to her, comfort her, finally broke down and told winter everything.

Winter had assumed that Wiess had been given the same treatment she had growing up, having been spoiled from an early age without any of the familial responsibility that Wiess was forced to give everything up to assume.

Since then she began to feel an incredible level of contempt for her father for seemingly treating her as the favorite while showing no affection towards Wiess whatsoever. She hated herself for not noticing, and she hated her family for all of the horrible things it did even to it's own members, let alone the other cruelties she had ignored so she could continue her happy little fantasy.

It was like the wool was pulled from over her eyes, and she could finally see the pain that had been caused to others while she lived in near eternal bliss, being given everything she wanted without any stipulations or exceptions.

She had assumed that Wiess had lived like this too, that she married out of love and not some sick, twisted business deal. She had been too wrapped up in her own little world to notice the pain her father, who was so kind and loving to her, had inflicted on her sister. She had become determined to find a way to hurt their father, keeping up the kind, loving daughter act so that when he least expected it, she could hurt him.

August was shocked by the new biting tone in Winters voice. She had been so kind to him all her life. He was always able to rationalize his cruelty toward Wiess as being for the company, seeing as she was his firstborn, his heir, who would one day inherit the Schnee empire, but even as she became more and more a pawn, and later a bargaining chip to use as a way to unite his company with his strongest opposition through Wiess' marriage, but he found he couldn't do any of that to winter.

After his first wife, their mother, had lost her battle with cancer, and his obsession with expanding the company grew, a fire that was constantly stoked by the white fang attacks, he began to see reconciling with Wiess as a lost cause, and so saw his youngest as a second chance. He had given her everything she wanted and she loved him for it, and now, to hear such a biting, hateful tone coming from her, it shocked him to no end.

Winter had moved to Wiess' side, a comforting grip on her hand, occasionally throwing angry glares at their father. Wiess needed the contact if she was honest. Needed any source of warmth and comfort however small to slow the growth of ice around Wiess' heart, choking her, consuming her.

Even with someone there for her, she knew that the loneliness she feared so much would finally take her. The one person who had given her respite, thawed her heart, was gone. Dead, because of her selfishness. Ruby had taken away her loneliness, chipping away at her icy heart bit by bit. But it wasn't enough for Wiess. No matter how much comfort and companionship Ruby gave her, she could still feel the ice evading Ruby's warmth.

It wasn't until years later that she realized that it was hope. Hope that her father would finally see her as a daughter, love her, and be proud of her. But by the time she realized this it was too late. She was married to a man she hardly knew, and her father was as distant as ever. She had gained nothing, but lost the one thing she loved most in the world. Every time she closed her eyes she saw ruby lying in a pool of blood. She knew what she was going to do next. She had failed in her promise to be the Ruby's best teammate, but she wouldn't fail in this.

She would see what Ruby had written for her in her will, attend her funeral, and then go on the warpath. Be it Grimm or human, the monster who had ended Ruby's life would suffer. Then Wiess Schnee would disappear, Fade from public eye and journey into the Emerald Forest, Where they first became partners, where her life truly began, and where it would end.

As always, I don't own RWBY or these AU's. RWBY is Roosterteeth's and the AU's I'm connecting belong to Funblade, Ailtern, and Machine Keys. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out, but life stuff came up for about a month. But anyway, I tried to put in a bit more time into writing this one once all that personal stuff wrapped up, and now I can say I like the finished product. Please review no matter how critical, but no flames please.


	5. Chapter 4

**Please review! **

The ride to the Belladonna-Long's bar more tense than the most heated of board room arguments that August had been involved in. Winter had insisted in coming along, throwing heated glares his way throughout the ride, but he couldn't forget why he had insisted on tagging along for this ride. He had finally found a way to begin to fix his relationship with Weiss, and he wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He needed to show her he cared, while fighting every urge he had to tell her that a Schnee doesn't act like she had been throughout the night. To tell her that she was weak, as his father would have told him. So, he decided to try and get her to open up to him, to tell him how she felt, and hopefully try to provide some semblance of comfort, whatever little he could provide.

"So Weiss, tell me about his girl" he said, not really expecting any kind of answer, but she surprised him.

"She was so… loving." she said, her mind worlds away, lost in memory. "she was nothing but kind and sweet and wonderful to me, no matter how abrasive I was to her. No matter what I said to her, what I called her, she always smiled, said something so sweet and _loving _as if it were nothing, as if loving me was as easy as breathing,and then I would just… snap at her. I couldn't help it, I just didn't know how else to respond. My whole life I've never met anyone as open and caring as she was, and I didn't know what to do, how to thank her. Do you know what it's like to never be able to tell someone that means so much to you how you really feel? But she would just smile, like she knew what I really wanted to tell her, like it was all ok."

August wanted to respond to her, to tell her how he knew all about being unable to tell someone how much they mean to you, and the self loathing that comes with it.

He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he couldn't, and he hated himself for it more and more. He had long been telling Weiss that Schnees are not weak, chastising her for the smallest signs of imperfection, of _emotion_. But if Schnees are not weak, then he had no right to be called one himself.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, sad, cold and lonely. When at last they arrived, exciting the limo and stepping into the Sundrop Lounge, they were greeted with a somber looking collection of people, most of whom were unfamiliar to August, but Weiss seemed to know them, judging by how she was unable to look them in their eyes.

Upon seeing Weiss enter, no one said anything, they just stared at her with looks that ranged from friendly sympathy to barely restrained anger, but most of them just seemed surprised to see her there at all.

The awkward silence that had filled the room was broken when a man August did recognize, Professor Ozpin, looked at Weiss with a warm sympathetic smile and spoke "Mrs. Schnee, what a welcome surprise on such a sad occasion. It's good to see you, Weiss."

Weiss couldn't help but feeling her spirits lift, at least a little bit, by Ozpin's genuine delight at her appearance, as though he thought she was blameless in all of this, as though this wasn't all her fault. She gave him a small, sad smile of her own in return, before looking around to meet the gazes of her former classmates and professors.

Everyone from Team JNPR had come, along with professors Goodwitch, Port and Oobleck, and Velvet Scarlatina. As she opened her mouth to speak, she stopped at the sound of a familiar bark, with what sounded like a cat hissing. Slowly she turned to see Ruby and Yang's childhood pet Zwei barking at a little girl with Blake's ears and hair, but Yang's eyes. "Mommy, Momma, Auntie Ruby's dog won't leave alone!" cried the little girl, who then gave the dog another hiss, but Zwei was unfazed, and just cocked his head to the side, giving her a wag of his tail.

"It's ok Yin, he only wants to play sweetie." Said Yang, an amused smile on her face.

"Momma's right Yin, no need to panic." Blake said, but the look on her face as she stared Zwei down said something completely different.

"What are you talking about Blake, you panic when Zwei gets within 20 feet of you. I'm surprised your as calm as you are right now." Yang chuckled, a wry grin on her face.

The girl laughed along with Yang, before giving Zwei a timid look, slowly walking up to pat him on the head. Zwei barked and jumped up to lean on the girl, affectionately licking her face, causing Yin to laugh, a beautiful, bell like sound. Weiss couldn't help but let a small chuckle out at the sight as well. At the sound of Weiss laugh, Zwei turned his head to look at her, and upon recognizing her, leaped off of yin to run up to Weiss, pawing at her foot. Weiss smiled, picked him up into her arms, rubbing his belly affectionately. Winter let out a squeal of delight rushing to Weiss to dote on him.

Weiss looked up from the dog to Blake and Yang, before asking "Why is Zwei here? I can't imagine Blake letting him live with you for more than few days."

"Well Dad is too old to keep up with him, so Ruby took him in. I don't really know what will happen to him now." Yang said, looking at Zwei with a sad frown on her face.

With that, the somber mood returned. The reminder of why they were all gathered at the Belladonna-Long's made sure of that.

"Well, without any more delays, we are all here because we each have been named in Ruby Rose's will. I have been informed that Ms. Rose left a video message detailing how she wanted her estate to be divided, along with a written message for Mrs. Schnee." Ozpin told the room, holding a television remote in one hand and an envelope in the other.

"Mrs. Schnee, this is for you." Said Ozpin, handing her the paper

Weiss looked down at the page, realizing that what she was holding was Ruby's last words to her. She hurried to open the envelope, removing the page inside, unfolding it, hand shaking the entire time.

_Weiss, _

_I hope this letter find you well. There's a lot to tell you, so I wanted to make sure I did it right, here goes._

_I miss you. More than you'll ever know. I've tried, I honestly have tried to move on but I just can't. I went out with Penny a couple times and this cute girl at a nearby coffee shop, but they were missing something. They weren't you. I'm not sure I wanted them to be. I'm not sure I want to let go, because even if I couldn't make you happy, those few, short years with you were the best of my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Everyday I have to stop myself from trying to get you back, from sneaking into your home and trying to convince you to run away with me to somewhere far away where it can be just us, together, for the rest of our lives. But I can't do that. You told me that your marriage would make your dad proud of you, that you would finally be happy, and I can't take you from that. I keep having reminding myself that you're happy, and that's all I want. I don't want to disrupt your life. I hope your husband treats you well, and that you got everything you wanted from your marriage. I love you._

the rest of the page was a list of items to be given to Weiss. She scanned the list, most of the items on the list sentimental objects from when she and Ruby had dated. She remembered the stuffed animal that Ruby had tried so hard to win for her at a carnival game, only for Weiss to win it for Ruby when she gave up an hour, and many Lien, later. She remembered the arts and crafts projects Ruby had made for her. Weiss loved them all despite how cheap they seemed. No, she loved them _because _of that. The effort that was evident on every inch of the gifts showed how much Ruby cared for her. She hated herself leaving them at Beacon when she moved back into Schnee manor.

As she looked down the list, wet spots began to form on the paper. It took her a moment to realize she was crying. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked up, surprised to see Yang staring at her, a comforting smile on her face. Doing her best to regain something close to composure, she continued on reading.

Most of the list was the similar to the other items, just small things, reminders of their time together, but she was shocked at what was listed on the last line. She was to be given Zwei. Ruby was trusting her, the person who had abandoned her, with a childhood friend and her most steadfast companion. It was exactly the type of thing that utter _dunce_ would do. At this point, she couldn't even see from the tears streaming down her face. Yang enveloped her in a warm comforting hug as Weiss' legs gave out from under her, collapsing onto Yang. Still sobbing, she looked up into Yang's lilac eyes and asked the one question that she had needed to know the answer too. "How did she die?"

Yang looked down, hands shaking, clearly struggling with her emotions herself, before looking to Blake. After a moment of simply staring into her wife's eyes, she had calmed enough to answer her question. "It was Cinder." Was all Yang said.

The expression on Weiss' face was unreadable. After a moment of contemplation Weiss turned to face the occupants of the room, and in a voice that matched the fury evident in her eyes said, "I will buy any commissions you have available for as long as it takes to track and hunt down Cinder Fall. With all of us working together, we should be able to hunt down that inhuman _monster_, and avenge Ruby's death."

Yang looked at Weiss with a confident, vengeful smile on her face, a dangerous gleam in her eyes as they shifted from lilac to red. Nora had on a predatory grin, tinkering with Magnhild. Ren was his usual, stoic self, while Juanne and Phyrra shared a looked for a moment, before turning to Weiss and nodding the affirmative. Even Velvet, as quiet as she normally was, seemed filled with energy, ready and willing to take down Cinder.

Blake looked down to her daughter, who was playing on the floor with Zwei, bringing him uncomfortably close to Blake to comfort.

Once she was sure that the dog was distracted with her daughter and wouldn't be bothering her, she turned to Weiss, and in a skeptical voice asked "_Us?_ Are you planning on taking part in this hunt?"

Weiss smiled "of course." Her father, shocked, turned to Weiss, flabbergasted.

"Weiss, for all that is holy be sensible!" August cried. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Weiss gave a sad, contemplative smile, and then looked to her father. "Maybe I am."

"Do not be a fool!" August shouted. Winter looked on the verge of tears.

Weiss looked at her father, a mix of anger and determination in her eyes. "I've spent my entire life working _so_ hard, struggling to meet your standards, trying my best to be perfect, and sacrificing everything for you. I've given up so much. I had a chance to have a real family at Beacon, with people who loved me as I was, and I gave that up, all for you!" she cried, shouting at the top of her lung, not caring that the others were still in the room. "I chose wrong. I could have been loved, had a life that wasn't spent hopelessly trying to please you, to earn your approval. But I gave that up, all for you. I chose wrong."

"Weiss you can't look at it like that. You know I don't take no for an answer. I didn't leave you much choice." said August.

"I did have a choice. A week before my wedding, Ruby came to me and begged me to leave with her. I called her childish and told her that for all their love, I was still missing something in my life. A hole that they just couldn't fill. I thought that, if I married that drunken monster, made you proud, then maybe it would be enough. I know now that nothing will ever be enough."

"I'm… Weiss I'm so sorry. I didn't realize- "

"It's ok now, the hole is gone. Not because I made you proud. I've long since realized how impossible that is. No I've just given up on ever pleasing you. That… emptiness, that loneliness was my hope, combined with what little love for you I had. I didn't realize if I gave up on you, had run away and lived with Ruby, I could have had a good life. I gave up everything all for you and now I can't make it right. Ruby died because I wasn't there to protect her, to keep her safe, like I promised I would. So yes, I am trying to get myself killed, because that's the only way to make up for my failure. Years ago, I began moving money into private accounts, so that one day I could go to Ruby, beg her forgiveness, and give her a good life, make it all up to her. I have enough money to fund everyone here for the next 16 months as one massive team of hunters, all searching for Cinder. I may not be able to live my life out with Ruby, hidden away somewhere you can't find us, but I can avenge her death, and hopefully, I will die doing so, because that's the least I deserve."

August was silent for a moment, unable to meet Weiss' glare, he said, "if you're dead set on this foolish pursuit, then I will do my best to assist you, maybe convince you that your death is not the best outcome, and if not, at least be there try to prevent it from happening. After the White Fang attacks, I learned something of self defense, and it is expected of all Schnees to be proficient with the use of dust."

Winter rushed up and grabbed weiss from behind in a bear hug, saying "I didn't know you felt this bad, but Father is right, and you're worth more than you realize, and so I'll help you out too, so that I can prove it to you."

**I am SOOO sorry that it took me this long to work on this chapter, but as I've said before, I have a full time job along with other responsibilities, and a WHOLE lot of computer issues. **


	6. Chapter 5

**I wanted to get this out by today, because of obvious reasons. ****I've never seen a more creative fight choreographer. That's probably what I'll remember about him most, his creativity. Its very easy to tell the difference between someone who is talented and someone who is a prodigy based on their work, and Monty stood out as a true prodigy among his peers and we will miss him. Life is not just about passing on you're genes. through music, art, literature and movies, or in this case online shows, we spread ideas that spread like genes, called memes. A meme is not a stupid internet clip that gets popular. Memes are the spread of great ideas from one person to the next, and we have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. Monty's memes have reached us all, creating new ideas that will shape and influence everyone that saw his work.**

It had been two months since Weiss had formed her group, and they had gotten nowhere. After searching nearly every building in vale and finding no sign of cinder, they had hired a private military firm to begin searching the other large cities. This week she began coordinating their search efforts in the southern Vacuo.

As Weiss looked over her paperwork, her father stepped into the office room she had taken over in Schnee manor.

Weiss didn't notice her father at first, but she looked up at him once he cleared his throat. He stared at her awkwardly a moment, suddenly forgetting why he had come in the first place. He sputtered nervously, looking down to the coffee in his hands. He awkwardly set down a cup in front of her. After a moment he finally thought of something to say. "Wh-why are you up this late?" he managed to get out, still a little nervous. In these past few months he had made very few steps forward in his relationship with his daughter, so by even bringing her this cup of coffee he was risking a shouting match.

Thankfully yet discouragingly, Weiss just ignored him, staring down at a map of southern Vacuo. She was paying particularly close attention to the warehouse district. August tried again, pushing the cup of coffee to her line of sight, onto the map. She sighed, grabbing the cup and slamming it down out of her view of the map.

August looked down to the coffee, trying his best to hide the hurt on his face. He looked down to weiss, and noticed how tired she seemed. "Why don't you get some sleep?" August said. "I'm not tired." Was her reply, given almost instantly. "You said that yesterday. And the day before." Weiss remained silent. After a period with no words exchanged, August got up to leave. Just before his hand touched the doorknob, Weiss spoke up. "I can't sleep. Not without having nightmares."

August turned back to Weiss, moving over to her desk. "What are they about? You can tell me Weiss, I'm… I'm trying to be here for you."

"I… no. Never mind, I don't know what I was thinking. Please leave." Weiss said, turning her back on her father slowly trudging back to her desk.

Hesitantly, August reached his hand out and put it on Weiss' shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Weiss it's ok if you want to be left alone, but I'm trying to be here for you. I know that I failed you. I let you down so many times I've lost count. But it won't hurt to open up to someone. If not me, then your old teammates. You and lowbo- I'm sorry, _faunus_ Mrs. Belladonna-Long seem close, I think she at least would listen to anything you have to say. Just _please_ Weiss, don't be like me. When your mother was still with us, I would always be able to talk to her when the stress got too great. She was so caring that way." He finished with a sad smile.

"I had someone like that. But she's gone now. Long gone. She was my one and only hope for a happy life, and I left her to die. Can I ask something? Once mother died, who did you talk to then? Surely not that floosy you married just to keep up appearances." When August couldn't come up with an answer, Weiss looked back down to her map. "Exactly. Now please leave."

As August got up from his chair, the door opened and winter stepped into the winter stepped into the room. Upon seeing him, her eyes narrowed into a dark glare. "What are you doing here? Get out! She doesn't want you here." She said, rushing up to him to better stare him down.

"I was just leaving Winter. How are you doing?" He looked down to the yellow and black stamp on her hand I see you were out clubbing. The Belladonna-Long's I hope? How are they?"

Winter's glare intensified. "What are you doing? Do you honestly think you can speak to me like everything is ok after everything you did to Weiss? To my sister? You used me! Everything you've ever given me, you did to make yourself feel better for being such a failure of a father to her! Every act of love was a lie. My whole life one big lie, some excuse to make my sister even more miserable. And now you're acting like nothing has changed! Like I'd go running up to hug you and ask you to buy me some trivial piece of junk! There's a reason I've been avoiding you lately."

Winter looked to be on the verge of tears. "You can't just act like you're just another monster who uses any excuse he can to hurt people. Oh boohoo my wife died. It's not like it didn't hurt for us too!"

"I….I'm sorry, Winter. I know it was hard for you to cope with her death, I'm sorry."

Winter glared at August, "What about Weiss? Did you think that she didn't-"

Weiss stepped in between the two of them, before turning to Winter, "Thank you Winter, but I do _not_ need you speaking for me. I have been dealing with father all my life, I don't need protection from him now."

Winter looked to the floor, like a child being scolded by a parent. "I'm sorry Weiss. I just want to help you. I have so much to make up for, and I need to start somewhere. I need to make you see that you have people that care about you, and that you're not alone."

"I never asked for your help. Where was this compassion before you knew how father treated me. Where was my sister just a few hours before my wedding when I was balling my eyes out begging for someone to save me? I have always been alone. I have come to terms with this over the past few years, and now, I don't care what you do, because the one person who made my life better is gone, and I just want the hurt to go away. I have nightmares. Every night. Every time I fall asleep, I'm on the other side of the mirror in my room, all those years ago, when Ruby tried to get me to leave with her. I can see how cold I was. How I still thought I had a chance to get my family to love me. I beat against the mirror. I need to tell myself it won't work. That I had all I needed with Ruby. But they don't hear me. When Ruby goes to leave, I try to break the mirror, but when my fist hits it, I am the one that shatters. There's nothing left of worth in my life."

Winter moved to comfort her sister, but Weiss cuts her off.

"Those are the best nights. The worst ones, the ones that make me afraid to go to sleep, are when I'm back behind that mirror, and everything plays out the same as my other dreams. But, when I go to break the glass, it cracks. They can see me on the other side, I can tell them to run. To go and live happy lives together. And they do. I can't leave the mirror, but I see it all. Their happy life together. I see a wedding day filled with love and happiness as I walk down the aisle to meet her. I see our children. I see us growing old together, and after a while I cease to be behind the mirror. Now I'm the one taking care of her when she gets home from a hurt dangerous hunt, or laughing and calling her a dolt when she tries to get out of changing our child's diaper. And when we go to sleep, we're together, and when we wake up, we're together, until one night we fall asleep together, but I wake up, and my bed is cold and Ruby isn't there. I hate those nightmares the most, because they show me what I'll never have. Having a family that loves me, that is always there when I need them is what I use to want more than anything, but to see that if I had made just one different choice I could have had that…..it just hurts too much."

Winter rushed up to Weiss, crushing with a hug that could give Yang a run for her money. "I'm so sorry We-"

Winter couldn't finish her sentence, Weiss' scroll went off, playing the ringtone she had set for the Belladonna-Long's. Weiss walked over to her desk, attempting to dry he tears that she had let slip during her long winded rant, and tapped the answer button on her scroll. Blake's face appeared, showing signs of exhaustion. "Weiss, I think I tracked down Cinder. Pick us up, I'll explain along the way."

Weiss smiled, a cruel smile devoid of any happiness. "Ill be there as so as I can. Thank you Blake, thank you so much."

Weiss stood, moving to the display case where Myrtenaster lay. Taking the sword with all the care that the heirloom deserved, she made to leave. Just as she reached the door, her father called out to her.

"you're not leaving without me." He smiled at her, beckoning her to continue to the front of the house. Years ago Weiss would have been elated to have her father smile at her like this, but instead she just kept walking. Winter made to follow, but was stopped by August

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping my sister"

"How? You've never had any training. What can you do? I understand you want to help, but there's not much you can do right now."

"It doesn't matter. I have so much I need to make up to her. I don't want my sister to die thinking I don't care about her."

August let a soft smile form "I understand what you mean. I really do, but you have to know your limits. Please, for Weiss' sake; stay where you aren't at risk, or worse, a liability."

Winter sighed, then looked to her sister, who had been observing their conversation from her position just outside the doorway. She had a gentle, understanding smile on her face, one that reminded her so much of their mother it hurt. A small smile formed on her own face as she nodded her assent. "But call if you need anything. _Please._"

**Author's note:**

**I am SOO sorry these chapters take so long and are so damn short and inconsequential. I don't mean to leave them alone so long, by life keeps kicking the everloving shit out of me. I hope the next chapter will take less time.**


	7. Chapter 6

_It was another one of Weiss' meetings with Blake. Of all of her former schoolmates, Blake was the one person that seemed the most sympathetic. Not that she wanted sympathy. Not that she deserved it. But sympathy did help with cooperation, and the better everyone got along together, the faster she got to Cinder Fall. They had wrapped up another fruitless brainstorming session. Weiss felt as if she was letting Ruby down again. Every day she slipped deeper and deeper into self-loathing, something Blake had taken notice of. Every time she got ready to leave the Belladonna-Long's bar Blake would stop her, pull her into a hug, and tell her it's all ok. _

"_Yang has definitely been rubbing off on you." Weiss said as Blake repeated this same routine once again._

"_She has, hasn't she." Blake bent down to pick up a sleeping Yin, who had insisted on spending time helping her mother every night. This mostly entailed staring at Weiss and Blake as they worked, soaking any information about the methods her mother was using to help track down Cinder, till she inevitably fell asleep in her chair, as was the case tonight._

"_It wasn't till Yin that I really noticed the change, though. My whole life I never though I could be a good parent. I never expected that it would be so natural, and I think it has everything to do with Yang's influence. She's changed me so much, and I love her for it." An unconscious smile appeared on her face as she thought of her wife._

"_You certainly are good for each other. If you don't mind me asking, how did you have Yin? She looked like you both."_

"_A new technique that lets two women conceive a child that's biologically theirs. The process is experimental, and we were the only success."_

"_They told me there weren't any successes." At Blake's questioning gaze, she continued "I was the chief investor for that project. When things between us got serious Ruby would always talk about wanting a big family and I thought…"_

"_You thought that you could make things up to Ruby if you gave her something she really wanted."_

_Weiss nodded. "I thought it would be a good start. You have to remember I had been planning an escape from my family ever since my wedding day, but there was one important part I had to make sure of. I had to make sure that Ruby would take me back. I thought that if I told her that she could have a child with me, she would at least give me a chance. But the team in charge of the project told me there were no successes, so I had to find some other way to make it up to her. I couldn't think of something good enough in time though."_

"_I'm sorry, Weiss. We asked the doctor not to report Yin's conception. It was for her own good."_

"_What do you mean?" Weiss replied angrily. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. If Blake had let the research team know, she would have gone to Ruby. Ruby would be alive. _

"_I know what you're thinking Weiss, but I won't risk my daughter's safety for anything. Hell, we won't let her go outside most days unless Yang and I are with her and we're going to have to home school her. Anti-faunus sentiment has gotten so bad these past few years that we have to keep her supervised almost every hour of the day. We thought that if it got out she's half human she wouldn't be safe from faunus either. The White Fang have begun targeting those with mixed bloodlines and I wanted her to be safe. If everyone knew she was half human she would be in danger of more than a bit of anti faunus abuse. Hell we lose a few patrons every time Yang and I kiss in public. I'm sorry." Blake replied, with genuine concern in her eyes._

"_I understand. It was a long shot, it working for us the way it did for you two. One successful birth certainly doesn't make the entire project a success. One question though. How did you get the doctor to agree to keep it a secret?"_

"_I did nothing. Spend enough time around Yang and she can persuade you to do anything." Blake said, in an oddly proud, even boastful tone. _

"_Even marry her?" _

"_Yeah. Still not sure how she pulled that one off though." Blake replied with a wry grin._

"_It's my natural charm, kitten." Yang's voice came from the stairway leading to their apartment above the Sundrop Lounge. She smiled brightly at the sight of Yin asleep in her mother's arms. She made her way downstairs, stopping when she came to the 'war room' as she had called it. In actuality it was just a large table with various maps and papers spread on it._

"_Still nothing?" Her voice gave away an underlying sense of disappointment. _

"_I'm sorry Yang." Blake approached her wife kissing her on the cheek. "If I could just find out where she's getting the money to keep herself so well hidden-" she stopped herself as Yin shifted in her arms._

"_Aw Kitten, you're doing your best. Don't work too hard though, I can't sleep without you there."_

"_I know, remember how, during my first overnight hunting exam, you kept the entire school awake with your pacing."_

"_It wasn't her pacing, so much as the fire alarms. I remember her almost burning a hole straight through the floor. My favorite part of that night was when she finally calmed down enough to go to bed, only to set the sheet alight five minutes later." Weiss was smiling along with Blake and Yang now, and she continued smiling after Blake put Yin to bed, to come back downstairs and continue their reminiscing long into the night. _

That was one of the first times in a long time Weiss was almost happy. Since then, the belladonna long's had become a place of comfort for her, and the first place she felt cared for since Beacon. She almost didn't want it to end, but the gnawing guilt that she was sure would follow her to her grave made certain she remembered her newfound purpose in life. Kill Cinder, and take herself out with the bitch.

The Schnee family car pulling into the large parking lot infront of the Sundrop Lounge. Blake and Yang were waiting for them just outside. Blake approached the car window as they neared, an envelope in one hand, her other in its almost permanent home in Yang's steely grip.

"I have an address. It's a short trip out. Almost 4 hours by Bullhead. I have one chartered at this address" She handed Weiss a slip of paper from the envelope. "Evryone else will meet us there."

"thank you Blake. Really, thank you. How did you find her?"

"I'll explain on the way."

"I can't wait to hear how you did it Blakey. My Kitten always pulls through!" Yang said, earning a smile from blake, which only seemed to make Yang's smile grow even wider.

There seemed to be an underlying sadness to blakes smile, however. For whatever reason, Blake seemed… off. It was almost as if she was hiding something, but before she could begin to try and figure it out, she was interrupted by Yang. "So Kitten, how'd you track down that monster?"

"Yes, I believe we're all on the edge of our seats waiting for your explanation, please, do explain." Her father added.

"I got a tip from an old acquaintance that led me to an old classified project, which was designed as the successor to Mountain Glenn. It failed even faster than the first, and the details were never released to the public, for fear of growing anti-Vale sentiment, something that the current people in change could definitely do without. The White Fang gives them enough trouble."

"Who sent the tip? The only one of us with enough pull to dig up that project is Weiss' old man, and they were just as in the dark as I was." August gave Yang a dirty look at the old man comment. He preferred to think of himself as 'late middle aged' himself. Yang shrugged it off and continued, however. "Why keep it a secret from me anyway? You know I don't judge you based on your past so if it's an old friend from the White Fang you don't have to hide it from me. So tell me who it was Blakey, I promise I don't care."

"Yang, please, before I tell you, I need you to know that she came to me."

A puzzled look crossed Yang's face. "Who are you… you don't mean… I told her not to come near my family again!" Yang's eyes turned crimson, her body beginning to glow as the temperature in the car began to rise.

"Calm down Yang! I don't like Raven anymore than you do, but we needed this information. We would have never found Cinder if she didn't get it to us." Blake threaded her hand into Yang's despite the heat now radiating off her, and the temperature in the car suddenly dropped back to normal.

Yang's face was filled with remorse as she looked down at blake's gloved hand, seeing minor burn marks in the black leather.

Blake knew what Yang was thinking, however, and sought to stop her current train of thought. "Yang I'm fine." She managed to get out before Yang pulled off the glove and began inspecting her hand for injuries. Seeing none, she pressed a small kiss to the palm of Blake's hand. Blake moved her hand to Yang's face and began to softly stroke her cheek.

"See, I'm fine Yang. You won't hurt me, you can't."

Yang smiled, leaning into Blakes palm as she continued her menstruations.

"I'm sorry Blake, I just… she left me! Left my dad! And she didn't come back because she's a coward! No good reason!" Yang's eyes flashed red again, but her anger was immediately calmed by the reminder of Blake's soothing presence.

Before either Weiss or her father could speak however, the driver notified them that they had arrived at the heliport where their transport awaited them. As they got out, they were greeted by the rest of the group that had been at Ruby's will reading, but there was a newcomer among them, a woman almost identical to Yang, but older, with long black hair, and a long red bladed katana.


	8. Chapter 7

"Yang, it's good to see you. And Blake! You look well." Raven got up from her seat on a stray shipping crate. As she moved to greet the newcomers stepping out of the limo however, Yang rushed past her, ignoring her altogether, instead approaching the pilot of the hammerhead.

"Hey, when yah gonna be ready to roll? We got places to be!" she was all but shouting at the pilot. Blake approached her, giving her kiss on the cheek.

"There's no reason to be sharky, Yang"

At Yang's questioning gaze, she elaborated. "The man is a pilot of a hammerhead transport, and you're being snarky." She finished with wry grin, one which Yang returned.

"Close kitten, but if you hafta explain it it's not funny. Don't worry though, I'll give you a proper sense of humor yet!"

Raven made to get closer to Yang, but the look Blake gave her told her now was not the time. They had more important things to get done. When the pilot was sure whatever drama had just dropped into his hanger had died down, he spoke up.

"We're ready to go anytime lady, just give me the word and I'll get us to where we need to go."

Yang nodded her assent, before giving a questioning look to the other occupants in the room. "We gonna do this or what!?"

As they neared the abandoned site where Cinder hid, Blake pulled a map of the area up on her scroll. While it loaded, she beckoned everyone to gather round. "I think the best thing to do as soon as we get to the area is break into teams of two and scour the area. Mr. Schnee, do you think you're strong enough to get hit? There are most likely Grimm in the area."

"To my greatest regret, old age affects us all. My aura isn't what it once was."

Blake nodded, then looked to Coco. "Team CFVY is down a person. You'll go with Yatsuhashi."

"Where is Velvet anyway?" Questioned Nora. "She should really be here."

"I convinced her to look after Yin, and mind the bar. Took some convincing though. She really wanted to come." Blake said a small smile on her face at the reminder of what the were about to do, who they were about to kill. She then turned her gaze to Raven.

"Looks like you're with Weiss, Raven."

"I… very well." She replied, a forlorn look on her face as Yang had made every attempt not to pay her any attention for almost the whole flight. When she was interacting with her, it was usually through glares where her eye color shifted back and forth from lilac to red, depending on Blake's proximity towards her, her calming influence keeping Yang from doing anything rash.

Before any more could be said, the pilot signaled their descent onto the nearest tall building, hoping to keep as much space between him and the Grimm as possible. The group departed, and preceded to spread out across the complex.

2 hours later, and the group had nothing to show for it. Weiss had searched every building she'd come across so far and found absolutely _nothing._ She couldn't give up though. She wouldn't give up. What surprised her about this situation however, was Raven, who had been searching just as diligently as Weiss. Weiss couldn't figure her out. Why was Raven so invested in the search for a killer who had killed someone she never met? Eventually, after finding another building empty, Weiss finally spoke to Raven beyond the normal orders of 'go here', or 'check that room'.

"So, Raven, what is going on between you and Yang? There are very few people that can make her as mad as you did just by coming here to help us. Were it not for Blake I'm sure she would have attacked you outright."

Raven looked at her for several moments before speaking, he expression hidden behind her mask.

"I… do not feel the need to tell you anything of my past. Yang does not think highly of you either, Mrs. Schnee. I have made enough transgressions against her without divulging her past without her consent."

Weiss frowned, obviously sensing Raven's distain for her, but she pushed the issue anyway. She didn't know why, whether it was just curiosity or if she stilled thought of Yang as a friend, was still invested in her life in some small way after all these years, but she couldn't stop herself from pushing the issue.

"How did you know what Yang thinks of me? If she gets angry at the sight of you, then you must have been watching her for a long time without her noticing. Or is that why she hates you, because you were stalking her?"

"shut up!" shouted Raven, "She doesn't hate me!"

"Oh, so that's it. You love her. She's a little young for you."

"Shut up!"

"You seem like the type who wouldn't let something, or some_one_ get in her way. Did you try to hurt Blake?"

"Shut up!"

"What did you do?"

"She's my daughter!" Raven yelled out "Don't you dare imply that I would do anything like that to her. I left her, alright! I left her, left her father, all for a wild goose chase!"

Puzzled, and more than a little bit guilty, Weiss asked, with a lot more caring "What do you mean, a 'wild goose chase'? It must have been something important to get a mother to leave her child for so many years, even a huntress."

Raven sighed, staring beyond the buildings surrounding them, down the long road and into the forest surrounding the area. She removed her mask, letting it fall to the ground, and spoke.

"A very long time ago, there was a Grimm, far more powerful and fierce than any before it. It hibernated for hundreds of years on end, and every time it woke up, thousands of people would die, then it would just disappear. At least, that's the old legend. I thought nothing of it the first time I heard the stories, but then, during one of my first hunts since I gave birth to Yang, I came across a long dead village, hundreds of years old, so old it predated the formation of the Kingdoms. And yet there were still, after all these years, footprints in the earth, and signs throughout the destroyed wreckage of people's homes that showed that whatever had done this was alone, and more importantly, monstrously large. I couldn't help but remember the old legends, but worse, I couldn't help but think of what would happen if it were still alive. I kept thinking of what would happen if it were to awake, of what would happen to Taiyang, and to my daughter. My little goldilocks. So I left. Just disappeared in the night without a goodbye. I was too scared, I just couldn't do it." Raven finished, tears welling in her eyes.

Weiss approached Raven, but, unsure of what to do to comfort her, she instead asked "You said you went on a wild goose chase. I assume then this Grimm never existed."

Raven looked up at her, nodding her head no.

"It did exist. But even Grimm, for all the mysteries surrounding them, still succumb to old age. 15 years of searching, and all I found was bones. I couldn't go back after that, not with how I left. So I watched. Saw her graduate from Signal, and then Beacon. Saw her get married, and saw her take her little girl home from the hospital. But I was never truly there for all of those times. All the times I should have been. I don't blame her for not wanting me around. She's my daughter. I can't blame her for anything."

"I seems we both have mistakes to make up for here." Weiss said as she reached down and picked up Raven's mask. Handing it back to her, she spoke. "I think that by killing Cinder, you can go a long way towards getting into Yang's good graces." Looking at the next building on their route, she began moving towards it. "I have my own reasons to hunt her down, so I ask that you assist me, so that we can both make up for those mistakes."

Raven looked down at the mask in her hands, and called to Weiss. "You know, I started wearing this thing to make sure no one recognized me. I wanted to make sure word never got back to Yang or her father." She then threw the mask as hard as she could, then followed after her. "Well then" Raven said with a smile. "Lets go kill a witch!"

As they entered the nearest building, Weiss immediately noticed the closed door to her right with unnatural lighting showing beneath it. When she tried to open the door, she found it locked and reinforced. In an attempt to knock the door down, she threw her shoulder into it, only succeeding in no doubt leaving a large bruise on her shoulder.

At the noise, Raven came from the end of the room she was searching. Looking at Weiss' injured shoulder, then to the door, she smiled.

"Allow me" she said, and with a wave of her hand, a swirling red and black vortex engulfed the door. When she lowered her hand, the vortex disappeared, along with the door. Weiss eyed her suspiciously. Raven was unperturbed however, and just kept smiling as she led the way into the room. The room itself was small, a large book shelf in one corner, a lamp, the source of the light she had seen earlier, was resting on a small bedside table next to an occupied bed. The person lying in it was definitely feminine, Cinder's build, but with much shorter hair that she had tied into a ponytail, no doubt to disguise herself upon killing one of Remnant's most beloved huntresses. She raised myrternaster, pointing it at Cinder and ran forward, yelling the whole way, ready to attack.

She had planned to die in battle along with Cinder, something Cinder needed to be awake for, but as the figure got up and turned to face her, she halted her advance, for she was staring into the perfect silver eyes of Ruby Rose.


	9. Chapter 8

"Ruby? What? How?"

Ruby smiled a sweet, innocent smile that Weiss immediately recognized, but there was something… off about it. Something she couldn't place.

"I'm sorry, but, do I know you? I feel like I've seen you, but I can't quite say where. I'm sorry." Ruby finished timidly

"Ruby, something's off. Why are you so scared?"

"Because I feel scared."

"I scare you?" That was the last thing Weiss wanted.

"No, not you, but something about that door opening always scares me. There are monsters out there, Cinder says. I don't want a monster to come here and hurt me."

"What do you mean Cinder says? What does she want with you?"

"Oh you know my girlfriend? Cinder takes care of me because I can't remember anything about my old life. She says till I do it's better to stay with her. She really loves me."

"I-I see." Weiss said, trying not to let the anger seep into her tone. "Ruby, if there are monsters here, then I think we should go. I'll take care of you."

"But what about Cinder? She hates being alone, I can't leave her. She's taken such good care of me."

"I'll tell Cinder where you are once we're safe, ok?"

"But what about the monsters? Cinder says they won't let us leave!"

"Don't worry, I won't let any monsters hurt you. I swear I'd rather die."

"Speaking of monsters" Raven interjected, "We've got a few coming her now. We've got to move Weiss."

"Weiss? You're Weiss! I-I think I know you! No. It's a dream. It has to be another dream! You can't be real! But… no… it's a dream… or a trick! That's right. It's all a trick! I'm loyal Cinder!" Ruby shouted out to the blackness beyond her room. "I'm your loyal little rose!"

"Ruby, what's wrong? It's ok, we're not a dream and we're not going to hurt you!" she reached down to stroke her cheek, noticing something off about the skin below Ruby's neck. Pulling her shirt out of the way, she recoiled, horrified, because with the exception of her face and neck, nearly all of her skin was covered in long, thin scars. Trying to hold back her tears, Weiss moved in to hug Ruby, who gave no reaction to the physical contact, no indication she felt it at all. Instead, Ruby just kept crying, whispering to herself "It's all a dream. Cinder's not here. It's all a dream."

"I'm so sorry" Weiss repeated over and over for only herself and Ruby to hear. Just then, the sound of a beowolf howl pierced the through the night air, startling all parties. Raven moved to Ruby, taking her from Weiss and into her arms in a bridal carry.

"We don't have time for this. You can do this later, but for now, we have to move." As they made to leave, Weiss heard the sound of chains clinking together. Looking behind her, she saw a large chain tying Ruby to her bed, about to go taught. Before she could warn Raven, however, the now taught chain jerked Ruby from Raven's arms with an audible and sickening pop. Ruby did nothing however. No cry of pain, no tears, she just curled up in a ball and whimpered.

Moving to the chain, Weiss used her ice dust to freeze the chain, before shattering it with her fist. Picking Ruby up herself, she nodded to Raven to move out, while she signaled the others to retreat back to the aircraft.

Once they had made it back to the hammerhead, they saw everyone gathered around, chatting amongst themselves. Yang turned away from Coco, and seeing who Weiss was carrying, let out an audible gasp that cut through the low din of the other's conversation Yang ran over to Weiss, trying to get a better look at her sister, almost as if she didn't believe her eyes. When Blake went to her wife's side, she was almost tackled to the ground by a tearful Yang, who held her in a bone crushing hug. Once Yang released her wife, and she had composed herself, she moved to Ruby, kissing her on the head with a softly spoken "Welcome back little sis."

With Ruby in tow, the group made to leave.

They had barely taken off before Blake was beside an unconscious Ruby, giving her a rudimentary checkup before a more practiced physician could look over Ruby. Looking up at the Group, she gave her diagnosis.

"She got lash marks, nail marks and scars from tools I don't want to know about. All of these wound have scarred over some time ago except for a dislocated leg, which looks like it happened recently. I don't think Cinder did this, she's been gone at least a day. Do either of you know something about this?"

At Blake's accusatory gaze Weiss looked to Raven, then back to the rest of the group.

"Ruby was chained to the bed when we found her. We heard a beowolf howl and I tried to move her. She got yanked out of my arms. It must have happened then. "

"That was a rookie mistake, Weiss. You didn't search your surroundings. If you did, she wouldn't have been hurt anymore than she already has." Blake's gaze softened. "But at least you found her. That's better than we ever hoped for."

Weiss nodded her agreement, before feeling a hand placed on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Raven looking down at her, a thankful smile on her face.

Weiss returned the smile, giving her a small nod in acknowledgment. She understood Raven now, at least a little, and she didn't want to give Yang anymore reason to feud with her. She saw the look of pain and heartbreak in Raven's eyes when she was around Yang. Weiss wanted to repay her for her help, and she understood the desire to make up for past wrongs. Looking back down at Ruby, she made to brush a strand of hair out of her face. Looking up, she saw her father's gaze on her, expression unreadable.

When they at last arrived at Schnee manor, the family doctor was ready and waiting curtesy of the Schnee patriarch. As soon as they could, they had loaded Ruby onto a gurney and were taking her to the nearest guest bedroom. Ruby had remained asleep for the entire flight, Weiss holding her the whole time.

As they watched Ruby get hauled away, Weiss not far behind, the rest of the group took a moment to themselves, each coupling together with their respective partner. As Blake rested on Yang's lap, Yang holding her as close as she could without hurting her, she looked to the rest of their friends, noticing just how close each couple was to each other. Seeing Ruby as injured as she was must have had just as big an impact on them as it did on her. Ruby had a special way of working her way into a person heart without trying. Seeing someone Blake viewed as a sister so damaged was so painful. She couldn't imagine what Yang was going through. Turning to look at her wife, she noticed a particular look in her eye, and smiled wryly. Getting up and moving the door to where the butler stood, ready to attend to whoever needed him, she asked him for directions to the nearest guest bedroom. When she got her answer, she pulled Yang up from her seat, and led her to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Where's Blake and Yang?" Phyrra asked.

Ren looked to his wife, who smiled back at him. "They're booping" Nora said.

"At least they're doing it privately. One of these days they're liable to… boop… where one of us can walk in on them. What's wrong Jaune? You're beet red." Phyrra looked to her husband with concern.

"It's nothing." He whispered meekly.

"OH I get it. So when'd you walk in on 'em?" Sun cut into the conversation.

"…"

"What was that? I couldn't hear you man, speak up."

"In my office. They snuck in after they had given a guest lecture. I guess they thought I was out." He said, unable to meet them in the eye.

"Where in your office?"

"The desk"

"_But that's where we_…" Phyrra suddenly stopped herself, clapping her hands over her mouth, and turning a shade of red not unlike Jaune's.

Weiss waited rather impatiently outside Ruby's door, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell her exactly what that _monster _did to her. Winter and her father were there, and Raven as well, a guilty look on her face. Noticing Weiss stare, she approached her, taking the seat next to her.

"I wanted to thank you, for taking the blame for me. I didn't mean to hurt Ruby. I just saw her and all I could think of was Yang's face when I brought her back. I didn't care about the grimm, they're of no concern to me. I didn't care about Ruby. I've just been alone so long. I'm Yang's mother but she can't stand the sight of me. Fate must be cruel, to want to hurt us both this damn much."

Weiss frowned, now staring intently at Ruby's door. "I don't think it's fate. We make our own decisions, and we have to live with the consequences." She turned back to Raven. "But that doesn't mean we can't make up for our mistakes. We just have to try and give back as much as we've taken. You missed Yang's childhood. Try and be there for Yin."

Raven smiled kindly at Weiss, giving her a nod of thanks. As she opened her mouth to speak, the doctor exited Ruby's room, and looked to August.

"I have no idea how this young woman was injured. I do not know what tortures she was put through that match these symptoms. I will only say that I pity her above any other patient I have tended to in all my years a physician. There are lash marks over every inch of her from her ankles to her neck. I have detected several types of drugs with purposes that I can only guess at in her bloodwork. I however can administer a treatment that will purge her blood of any harmful chemicals. She seemed aware of me, but was completely unresponsive to any stimuli, so I will need permission to treat her from her medical proxy." The doctor said, occasionally glancing back at Ruby's room with concern.

"I'll go get Yang" Weiss stood up.

"I love you kitten"

Blake and Yang laid back, pulling the covers over them.

"I love you too" Blake replied, curling into Yang's side. In response Yang pulled her closer, laying a kiss upon Blake's head.

"I can't believe she's alive." Yang whispered, more to herself than to Blake, a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

"Neither can I. I only hope she can recover. It looked bad."

"I'm sure she'll be okay Blakey Cat. My little sis is one tough cookie. I'll do whatever it takes to make her better, even if I have to change her diapers."

"That's not what I meant Yang. Did you see the look in her eyes? It was like she was frightened by anything that moved. Cinder must have hurt her so much. You don't just get better from torture like that." Blake couldn't stop the emotion from dripping into her normally calm voice.

"You're right. But we'll be there for her every step of the way. I promised to take care of her. I should have been there to stop Cinder."

"Don't blame yourself for that. What happened to Ruby was no one's fault but Cinder's. Ruby thought it was a simple mission, remember. Cinder must have ambushed her."

Yang smiled, giving Blake another kiss. "You're right, I guess. Maybe I have more in common with Weiss than I thought. But I won't let the guilt get to me. I'll make sure Ruby's taken good care of, none of Weiss' 'take Cinder with me' crap. Not when I've got Yin. Not when I've got you, kitten."

Blake smiled, basking in Yang's warmth a little more before whoever was walking towards their room came in to interrupt them. She notices the shadow of someone's feet block the light that shined under the door. She shook Yang, who had begun to doze off, alerting her to the newcomers presence.

"You can come in, we're descent." Yang called out teasingly.

The door opened, Weiss stepping into the room.

""You know, when you said descent I thought you meant clothed, not that you had a sheet thrown over you." Weiss stated, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, yeah, harp on me later ice queen. What did you want?"

"I need you to come with me. It's about Ruby."

"Something happen?"

"You're her medical proxy right?"

"Think so, unless she was serious about making Zwei her go to, well, pup for her major medical decisions."

"She didn't. Did she?"

"She tried." Blake cut in.

"That dunce" Weiss couldn't help the small smile from gracing her features. When Yang and Blake had finally dressed themselves, they departed, Weiss explaining along the way.

As they approached Ruby's door however, they were stopped by Weiss husband. He could barely stand, and he smelled of expensive liquor.

"The hell you been?! Every time I need a good fuck you're gone! I had to go to a whore! A whore!"

"I will no longer be engaging in intercourse with a disgusting, drunken slob like you ever again!"

"That's right you drunken oaf. You will _never_ touch my daughter again!"

"Is that right old man? Are you really gonna do this to your son in law? My wedding to your daughter has made you billions! You sure you want to kick me out? I'll get a lawyer. I'll get back every lien I made you and more!"

"I don't care." August then nodded towards the mansion security, who begin to drag the drunken man out of the Schnee household.

Straitening his tie, August looked back towards his daughter. "Well, lets get going." Was all he said. As he turned and walked away, Weiss stared at him in awe. Her father had finally chosen her over the family business. But a part of her was still wary that this was another one of his schemes. She didn't know what to make of all this, so until she had any more information, she decided to get back to the task at hand. _Ruby. _

When they entered Ruby's room, they found her curled in the fetal position, eyes wide open, but not focused on anything, until Yang stepped into her line of sight.

"How's it going, lil' sis? Doc says we need to give you some medicine, so you can get better, alright? Everything will be ok, I promise. Nobody will ever hurt you again." At that, she broke down into quiet sobs, the rest of the room's occupants able to make out the words "I'm sorry, Summer." Before Blake could get to her wife to comfort her, Ruby reached out, grasping Yang's hand.

"Yang? Are you real? Please, be real."

Looking her sister dead in the eye, Yang gave a small nod, a gentle smile gracing her features.

"Then Weiss really came? She really saved me? I've dreamt about getting away for so long I couldn't tell, I thought Cinder finally broke me."

"Broke you?" Blake asked.

"She said she was going to tame me. Make me her 'loyal little rose'. "

"She tried to tame you?" Blake asked, realization and horror creeping into her voice.

"What is taming?" asked Weiss.

"It was invented as a punishment for members of the White Fang by several members of high society that caught White Fang with their personal guard. If I hadn't seen victims firsthand I wouldn't have thought it was real. In fact there's an old white fang rumor that your father has a harem of 300 drugged slaves."

"That's awful. How could they… father, did you know? You couldn't have condoned this behavior, you would have stopped it if you knew. You wouldn't have associated with the people who did this, right? You must at least have _some _decency." Winter asked, desperation creeping into her voice as she begged the universe that her father didn't know that anything about this.

"Winter, you have to understand, the business-" he was cut off as Winter slapped him and stormed off. "Winter please!" August was cut off by Winter slamming the door in his face. He was silent after that.

"Where did she get the scars?" Yang spoke up.

"You can fight the drugs by burning them away with you aura, but it takes an incredible amount of concentration. It focuses your entire aura on removing the drugs from your system. If you try to fight the them, you can't block any sort of physical harm, so most people who administer the 'treatment' just torture the person till they stop resisting. After a certain point with no resistance, the effect becomes permanent. " Said Blake.

"There's no cure?"

"No, there's no doctors willing to treat it. It's a condition that is only rumour to most people, and even then, only affects faunus."

"I see…" The doctor spoke up. "I didn't think it was possible to pity someone this much. She still has some of these drugs in her system, but the treatment I have planned will purge her system. She won't have to fight them anymore, she can just rest. I just need our permission to begin."

"Do it. Save her, please." Yang said

"Of course. This may take some time, and I should put her to sleep so she can get through the worst part of the recovery asleep. The treatment can be painful, I'm afraid."

"Very well. It's best to let you work unperturbed." Weiss said, looking over to Ruby. "Everything will be alright, Ruby."

"You're not going to leave, are you?" Ruby spoke up, desperation in her voice.

"I'll be right in the next room."

"NO! You can't leave, Cinder will take me back! You saved me Weiss, you can keep her away! Don't leave!"

"Ruby the mansion has the best security money can buy. No one is getting in here, I swear it."

"No! She can do it, she can take me! Please Weiss, Please!"

Looking to Blake, who gave her a nod of approval, Yang spoke up. "I'll stay with you Ruby, Blake take handle Yin on her own for a few days."

"It has to be Weiss! She saved me."

"I think I know what's going on." Blake spoke up. She looked to Weiss. "You were the first person Ruby saw when she came out of whatever drug fueled haze Cinder put her in. She thinks of you as her savior. Right now, I don't think she trusts anyone more than she trusts you."

"Me? But I'm the reason Cinder got to her in the first place. If she had a partner to back her up, she would have been fine."

"I don't like it much either Weiss… but I don't think she'll let the doc here work now that she's awake and all… paranoid. Not that I blame her. She needs someone to keep her calm and as much as I don't like it, you're the one for the job." Yang said, her face set in a deep frown.

Weiss nodded, taking a seat beside Ruby's bed. Ruby smiled up at her, the bright beaming kind that once seemed to permanently etched on her face. With a nod to Weiss, Yang and Blake left the room, and the Doctor began to work, Weiss never leaving Ruby's side. When the Doctor had at last finished, both women were asleep.

"How's Ruby?" Phyrra questioned.

"The doc's done. Said the rest is up to her. Sis can take care of herself, she'll get better, I know she will. Till she does, we have two things to get done. A surprise party for Ruby, and another one for _Cinder_."

Coco, who previously was on the phone, spoke up. "Actually, I think she already has one planned for us. Velvet won't answer her scroll."


	10. Chapter 9

Coco still couldn't believe it. That cheerful little girl they all had thought dead was still alive, but the worse for wear. She was having trouble coping with this; she couldn't imagine the pain Ruby must have gone through. She wasn't the best at coping with these things herself, she was a social person, and needed to talk these kinds of things out. It made her first year at Beacon rather hard because she didn't want to show her teammates that the stress was affecting her without the outlet, the release talking about her problems gave her. When she at last came to her breaking point, her team had been there to catch her, velvet in particular. Big surprise, the quiet girl was a great listener. With Velvet in mind, she pulled out her scroll and dialed Velv's number. No response. She tried again. No response. Once more. Nothing. 3 more times. Nada. The scroll was ringing, so velvet's scroll wasn't off, and while it was late, Velvet had heightened senses. She never missed her calls. Never.

She looked nearby and overheard Yang speaking to Phyrra. "The doc's done. Said the rest is up to her. Sis can take care of herself, she'll get better. Till she does, we have to things to get done. A surprise party for Ruby, and another one for _Cinder_."

It was then Coco put two and two together. _Cinder. _Cinder had her teammate. She quickly alerted the rest of the group. "I think Cinder already planned one for us. Velvet won't answer her scroll."

From the moment the words were out of Coco's mouth, the entire group went alert, their previous conversations forgotten, their concern for Velvet and by extension Yin clear of their faces. Almost everyone that searched for Ruby was gathered around Coco, except for Raven, who had mysteriously disappeared, leaving no clue to where she went.

After they had worked out that it wasn't a normal case of leaving a scroll off or the like, they immediately set out to the Sundrop Lounge, hoping they weren't too late.

Meanwhile in Ruby's room, Weiss sat beside Ruby's bed, her hand clutching Ruby's. She was still in general disbelief that Ruby was here. After her wedding day she had never once thought that she would see Ruby again. Any hope she might have had was dashed when Cinder faked her death, yet here she was, eyes wide open and staring at her. Even though they were clouded from the effects of Cinders drugs, they were still beautiful and filled with a kindness and compassion Weiss had never seen in anyone other than Ruby. She missed that kindness, that care and concern, wished she could bottle it up somehow and keep it, only for her to see. But she couldn't. She didn't deserve any kindness from Ruby. From anyone. If Ruby had a partner when she encountered Cinder, she would have never been captured. If Weiss had been there, Ruby would have never suffered through the hell Cinder forced on her. Weiss deserved to be alone. But Ruby needed her. Needed a caretaker, and Weiss would be there for her. Maybe that would be a better penance, to be so close to what she desired most, a person who could love her unconditionally, but to never have that love. She was taken out of her reverie briefly by the sounds of the doctor working. As the Doctor worked, Ruby's eyes drooped lower and lower until she was at last asleep.

"She'll be asleep for some time. The treatment uses Ms. Rose's own aura, so its best to keep her in a medically induced coma so her body can focus on getting her better."

"Physically, at least" Weiss said, stroking Ruby's hand with her thumb, a frown on her face.

"Yes, she will definitely need counseling, I can recommend some people. What is most important however is that she be with family. She's very lucky to have you, Mrs. Schnee."

"She's lucky to have them, out there." _Not me. She wouldn't be here if not for me._ Weiss thought, guilt bubbling back up to the forefront of her mind.

"Yes, having friends is important for recovery. Especially one as arduous as this one will be. I must take my leave. I will be in tomorrow to check on her."

With a nod of understanding, Weiss turned back to Ruby, watching her sleep for some time, before finally drifting off herself.

Yang sped through the streets, she and Blake racing to their home. As she came into the parking lot of the Sundrop Lounge, they leapt out of the car, caring not that the car was left unlocked, the engine running. They only cared for one thing now. The thing all good parents worry for. Their child's safety. Arriving at the door, they noticed the door was left open. As they entered the bar, the saw scortch marks everywhere. Cinder had clearly been here. "YIN!" shouted Yang, looking through the mess their home had become to try and find her little girl.

"Up here!" they heard Velvet's familiar voice call out from the top floor of the building. Their home. Running up to Yin's bedroom they were greeted by the most strange, yet wonderful sight ever. Yin was in the arms of a soot covered Raven Brandwen, Velvet in a chair close by, covered in just as much ash and dirt as raven.

Upon seeing Yang enter, Raven smiled. "Hello Yang, we need to have a talk."

Weiss slowly opened her eyes, the bright sun's light having woken her. The first thing she saw was the purest silver to ever exist in this world. Ruby lay on her side, staring at Weiss unabashed, a soft smile on her face.

"When did you wake up Ruby? Are you ok? I'll call for the doctor!"

Just as Weiss got up to get her scroll Ruby's grip on her hand tightened.

"I'm fine Weiss. I mean my scars are a little sore, but that's nothing. I mean sure, I got them a recently but even scars I got as a huntress hurt every once in a while so I'm sure this is nothing. Like one time, this beowolf got me in the shoulder while I was doing this awesome move where I spin Crescent Rose around at just the right… what are you smiling at?"

"Nothing, Ruby. Now that you're up, I'd like to call everyone here. I'm sure they'd all want to say hello." Weiss smiled kindly at Ruby.

"That's right, they were here last night. They were there when you rescued me."

"Ruby please, I don't deserve any credit. We all were searching the area. If I didn't find you someone else would have. You really shouldn't credit me with anything, I was just lucky."

"And I was lucky you found me. I thought no one was coming for me, and Cinder said she'd make me forget everyone. Yang, Blake, little Yin… and you. I didn't want that but it almost happened. I almost gave in and it was like I was nothing. Just… soulless. I tried so hard to remember anything but there was nothing but small flashes. Then Cinder came in and told me she'd rescued me from monsters. That the whole world was filled with them and I couldn't leave. Even if I wanted to ask questions, I couldn't. I was nothing, and it was growing worse and worse, I was becoming less and less. Till she left to go get supplies, then you came. When I saw you I was me again. I know that if you weren't there I would be empty by the time whoever did end up finding me would have come across that old house Cinder had put me in. Thank you."

Weiss smiled, tears forming as she pulled Ruby close into a hug. "Anything for you, Ruby." Just as Weiss pulled back, she felt Ruby give her a quick peck on the cheek. Shocked, she reached up to touch the spot where Ruby's lips had touched her. It had been so long, and felt so good, but as much as Weiss wanted to kiss Ruby back, she couldn't. She looked at Ruby and saw all the scars Cinder had left on her, and the guilt gnawing at her grew worse. She didn't deserve too. Getting up from her chair she opened her scroll, only to be distracted by the sound of the door opening, a maid peeking her head into the room.

"I'm sorry to bother you Mrs. Schnee, but your friends just barged into the mansion and are demanding to see you."

Looking back to Ruby, Weiss gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be right back Ruby. Don't worry."

Weiss approached the front door, concern growing as the smell of soot and ashes began to grow. She quickened her pace, throwing the door open, to see Ruby's search party gathered in the room. Velvet and Raven were both covered head to toe in soot, but smiling nonetheless. Blake had Yin in her arms, with Yang standing almost protectively between her family and Raven, who had a depressed look on her face. Raven, noticing Weiss' stare, spoke up.

"Cinder's very angry, Weiss. She's coming for us. All of us."

"Yeah, so I hope you don't mind Weiss, but can we borrow your house?" Yang said, her posture attempting to show bravery and nonchalance, but it was betrayed by the occasional worried glances to Blake and Yin.

"What's going on here? Why does it smell like someone's burning alcohol?" August shouted as he barged into the room.

Looking down and inspecting herself, Velvet lifted her arm to her nose and sniffed.

"Sorry! I guess we kinda got used to the smell. Sorry!"

Raven interjected, sensing Velvet's nervousness. "Cinder attacked Blake and Yang's bar. She escaped, but we need a place to stay where we don't have to watch our backs. With your security, this place is almost impenetrable. With us helping your security, there's no way anyone's getting in here."

After a brief period of introspection, August nodded his assent, then pulled out his scroll. "I'll make the necessary calls to my security teams. In the mean time I recommend you retrieve any items you find essential. Oh, and do try not to destroy the house while you're here."

Just as August entered the room, Weiss heard the door behind her slowly open, followed by a gasp from Yin.

"Auntie Ruby! Momma said you were gone! You didn't even say goodbye!" Yin struggled in Blake's arms trying to get out. Blake set her down, and Yin went speeding to her Aunt's leg, which she enveloped in a tight hug.

"I know I left without saying goodbye, but I didn't know I was going to go. I wouldn't have been able to come home if it weren't for all of the people in this room, so let's thank em, okay?" Lifting Yin into her arms, she counted down. "On three little Yin. 3..2..1." They let out a "thank you", Yin's more boisterous, almost Yang like, and Ruby's more earnest, filled with emotion. Yang burst into tears, and Ruby darted to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. "It's okay, I'm here, I'm here. I'm okay."

"I thought you were dead. I missed you so much, Ruby. So damn much."

"I'm sorry Yang. I didn't mean to. I didn't know Cinder was planning anything. I'm so sorry."

"You don't ever need to apologize for that Ruby. Don't ever blame yourself. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

Blake gave a small, reassuring smile. "Yeah Ruby, It's not your fault. We're just glad to see you're safe. To tell the truth, I think we're all still having trouble wrapping our head around the fact you were alive this whole time. We spent months hunting Cinder because we thought she killed you. Now it turns out you're alive and… well it's just such a shock to us all." She walked up, wrapping her arms around Ruby. "a good shock, though."

"You've got that right." Coco spoke up.

"Yeah! Who else will help Yang and me keep Cardin in his place? I missed my leg breaking buddy!" Nora added.

Ruby began to tear up. "What's the matter Rubes? Something wrong?" Yang questioned, her voice filled with concern

Ruby looked around at the group gathered before her, then to Weiss, who had made her way to a far corner, still not feeling welcome with the rest. She turned back to Yang and answered.

"I'm fine. More than fine. I just… I love you guys. So, so much!" she exclaimed, a happy smile on her face, and at that moment, Weiss cracked a small smile, wiping tears from her eye. She had missed this so much. That youthful kindness and optimism that she once thought was lost to her forever. Even if she never got back together with Ruby, she would make sure she was around to see it as often as possible.

Elsewhere, however, Cinder was smiling for her own reasons. "So you think you can hide my love in Daddy Schnee's big pockets. Sure it will take a little longer to get to her, but I'm nothing if not patient."

A/N: Sorry this took so long, had to get my laptop repaired while I was out of town. I hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to review.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry I've let this story go so long without updating. Life is still beating the crap out of me, but it might be getting easier for me soon. Disclaimer: Roosterteeth owns RWBY, and the AU's used in this fic belong to their respective owners.

Later that night, when Weiss was preparing for bed, she heard a light knock at her door. Opening it, she was surprised to see Ruby standing there, eyes cast downwards. "I um… I was wondering if… if you wanted to… I can't sleep. Could you maybe stay with me? Like last night? I just feel like someone's watching me."

"Of course. I'll stay till you fall asleep, but next time, you should go to Yang and Blake. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"Oh… ok Weiss." She said with a downtrodden look in her eye. With one last sad glance at Weiss, she began to make her way back to her bedroom. As she followed Ruby, guilt was once again eating away at Weiss. She knew she had to distance herself from Ruby enough to make Ruby understand they couldn't be together, but she had to do it in a way that wouldn't hurt Ruby. She'd caused her enough pain. Catching up with Ruby, she caught her wrist as they neared her room.

"I didn't mean to be rude Ruby. I'm sorry. If you really want me to stay with you every once in a while, I suppose I could do it."

Ruby beamed at her, a smile lighting up her face as she embraced Weiss in a tight hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she practically shouted, crushing Weiss in the process.

"Ruby I can't breathe"

"Sorry Weiss oh my gosh I'm so sorry!"

Later that night, Ruby lay in her bed, as Weiss once again sat beside her, watching her sleep, not able to bring herself to leave. she dosed off sometime during the night, sleeping better in that chair than in her own bed.

The next day, Weiss awoke before Ruby and slipped out of the room before she awoke. Making her way to the kitchens, she saw Blake, Yang, and Yin were already seated, chatting amongst themselves. As she drew closer, Yin turned to her.

"Mrs. Weiss! Good morning!" she shouted, showcasing a combination of Yang's exuberance and Blake's good manners.

"We were just discussing today's lesson plan."

"More like Yin is trying to weasel her way out of doing her math homework."

"Math is SO boring though! I wanna hear about more of your adventures!"

"She gets that from you, Yang."

"Meh, It's part of our charm! Right Yinnie Cat?"

"Yeah!"

"She only agrees with you so much all the time because you encourage her like this."

"I am shocked Kitten. I deny any responsibility." Yang said feigning hurt.

"As usual. Remind me why I married you."

"OH I know, Momma! Its acuz you love her!"

"I guess that's true"

"You guess? Love is an important thing to be sure about!" Yang said, in mock surprise.

"You're right. I love… that you're like my own personal heater. I hardly ever need any blankets!"

"Oh I just might get a cavity by being in the same room as you two." Coco said as she entered the dining area.

"Oh Coco, don't be jealous of our perfect relationship! You'll get the courage to ask Velvs out someday!"

"Don't even bring that up please! Can we just talk about something, ANYTHING but my love life?"

"She's right, we should be focusing on getting Yin to do her math homework."

"You know, I might be able to get Yin a tutor. Might make things easier." Weiss spoke up.

"You kidding? What else will we do now that we're basically stuck here?

"Yeah! I want my Moms to teach me. No one's a better teacher than Mommy!"

"Really Blake? I would think you would be the better teacher." Weiss said.

"Yang is just more patient. She can explain things better. She basically raised Ruby, so it makes sense she'd be more experienced. I just help when neither of them understand the subject matter."

"Which is all the time!" A new voice cut in.

"Auntie Ruby!"

"How's my best little niece?"

"Momma won't let me leave. We're doing math but Mommy and I don't get it."

"You know Yin, Ruby's pretty good with math. Why not let her take a look."

"Oh yeah, bring on the math!"

Ruby took the book from Blake, staring for a while at the pages before her eyes watered, tears building up. "I can't read" she whispered.

"what?"

"I can't read! I'm staring at the page, but the words aren't coming back to me. I thought it would get better!"

"You were like this before?"

"A month after Cinder took me. Reading books was Cinder would let me do. One day I woke up and the words were all mixed up and they just didn't make any sense. I told Cinder, and she just got angry with me. She thought I was trying to get her to stop drugging me."

"I'm so… damn it! How many times have I had apologized to you now? It seems like every day I learn another way I screwed up your life Ruby! Is there anything else Cinder did to you? I'm sorry for it all! Please tell me everything and I'll make it up to you!"

"Weiss, this is it. And you have nothing to apologize for. Remember, you saved me from Cinder. You took me away from her, so please, stop blaming yourself." Ruby reached up and stroked Weiss' cheek.

"I can find a way to read again, and if not, then maybe I can just learn brail or something. This isn't your fault. The only thing you did was save my life. And I'll never forget that."

"Then why do I feel so guilty? I must have done something wrong. I left you. We were both happy together, but I was selfish. If I hadn't left you because of some stupid notion I could be enough for my father, then I would have been there. Even Yang said so."

"Yang can be an idiot sometimes, and you might not have been able to stop Cinder anyways. We've been over this Weiss. This wasn't you fault. You just wanted to be happy. I can understand that, and I'll never blame you for it." Ruby then leaned forward, and kissed Weiss on the cheek with a small smile.

"Call the doctor. While we wait, lets just eat, ok? We all make mistakes Weiss. We can't be perfect, but for the record, you were always perfect to me. Flaws and all.

"You dolt, that makes no sense." Weiss said with a smile, which Ruby reciprocated.

"Of course it does, and you know it. Now come on. Let's eat. We can worry on everything else later. Besides, I like it when you read to me."

Seeing Weiss blush, Yang couldn't help herself "I guess from now on she'll call you Weiss Schnread!"

Yin snorted as the rest of the group groaned. Weiss smiled, a small feeling of long lost happiness growing slowly inside her again.

After breakfast, the group dispersed and Ruby and Weiss went about contacting the doctor. A quick scroll message was rewarded with a recommendation for a specialist who could hopefully help Ruby read again. After they scheduled an appointment for the next day, they found themselves alone with each other. An awkward silence soon fell upon them as they soon found they were both unable to think of something to say. Weiss spoke first, her inexperience with small talk between herself and a person she actually cared for not stopping her from trying to break the silence.

"What books did you read? While you were with Cinder, I mean. Not that I meant to bring up any painful memories, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No Weiss, its fine… I liked fairy tales, but not the ones about heroes making the world a better place, like when I was a kid. The stories that I loved the most were ones where someone is locked away in some far off place, but manages to escape. I guess I needed a knight in shining armor to help me get out of my tower."

Weiss blushed furiously at the implication. "That's ridiculous, I'm no knight. I was just the first one there."

"You were there. That's what matters. You came for me when I needed you. Thank you"

Weiss gave a small nod in response, a smile filling her face as she moves to leave the room.

"I've got to get some work done Ruby. The company's about to be under new leadership, and I have a lot of paper work. I'll see you tonight, however."

"You sure you'll be there?"

"Absolutely" The smile Weiss was rewarded with carried her through the stresses of the following several hours, till at last, after the first day of many in her new position, she was ready to head to bed. Looking at the clock, she was shocked to see she had worked till one o'clock. As quickly as she could, she got up and made her way to Ruby's room. As tired as she was, even the desk looked comforting to her, but she quickly shook that thought away. She had made a promise to Ruby, and she was going to keep it, no matter how tempting it was to just fall over onto the floor and sleep there till morning.

When she arrived at Ruby's bedroom, she found that Ruby sitting in the chair Weiss had occupied the night before, a book in her hands she was poring over. Looking up at the noise of the door opening, her signature bright smile appeared once again. That damn smile. Weiss loved that smile so much. It never failed to make her smile right back.

"Did you wait for me? You didn't have to do that." Weiss asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Oh I didn't mind. I get that you're super busy Weiss!"

"It doesn't matter how busy I am. I promised to be here tonight. As a Schnee I must keep my word."

"Really, it's ok Weiss. I don't mind waiting. It gave me a chance to read." Ruby replied as she pulled the covers back, gesturing to the book in her off hand. Weiss, too tired to change into her pajamas, merely pulled her coat off, kicked of her shoes, and climbed into the bed. Ruby soon joined her, a smile on her face

Ruby threw an arm over Weiss, pulling her close and wrapping her in a tight hug. Weiss lay there, shallow breathing the only thing she could do, lest she wake up from what surely was a dream.

"G'night, Weiss. I love you."

Weiss new Ruby was only saying this because she was tired and still in pain from the horrors Cinder inflicted on her, and in desperate need of comfort, but that didn't stop her from uttering an "I love you too, Ruby" back to her bedpartner. She smiled as she felt Ruby press a sleepy kiss to her cheek. Ruby was here, and for the first time in her life, she was not alone. She no longer cared about her family name, or what her father wanted. Someone cared about her, unconditionally. That was all that mattered. She pulled Ruby tighter to her with one arm, stroking her cheek with the other. It hadn't been her fault. It was Cinder that hurt Ruby, and she couldn't blame herself for it. What she could do, was make sure every moment of Ruby's life was a happy one. She could make Ruby forget the pain. And I'll do it because I love her. No more guilt. was her last thought before sleep overcame her.

Weiss awoke the next morning, wrapped in warmth, and feeling a slight pressure on her chest. Looking down, she saw that Ruby had shifted in the night. Her head was now resting on her chest, using he collarbone as a pillow, and she was laying on her elbow. Her arm was falling asleep, tiny pinpricks in her hand telling her Ruby had been laying in that position a bit too long. "I should wake Ruby" was the first thought on Weiss' mind, but as she looked at her, she found that she just couldn't do it. Ruby looked more at peace right now than any other time she'd seen her since their reunion. Hesitantly, she reached up to brush a small amount of hair from Ruby's eyes. Her fingers brushed against the side of Ruby's head, and at the contract Ruby snapped awake, her hand reaching behind her, eyes darting around the room, before finally focusing on Weiss.

"Weiss?"

"I've never known you to be a light sleeper Ruby. Are alright?"

"Oh yeah! It's just a trick Blake taught me in case I go on a hunt by myself, and I camp out in a cave, or under a tree, or a hut. This way, if a Grimm sneaks up on me, BAM! I sneak up on him instead!"

At that… ridiculous statement, Weiss burst out giggling.

"What? Is my hair funny or something?" Ruby, slightly panicked, began flattening her hair with an childlike air of concentration, complete with her tongue sticking out of her mouth, making Weiss laugh harder.

Once her laughing died, down, she pressed a kiss to Ruby's nose, uttered a quick, lighthearted "dolt", and went about getting ready for the day.

After breakfast, while waiting for the specialist to arrive, Weiss pulled Blake and Yang aside and sat them down in her private office.

"I asked you here for a rather sensitive matter… Ruby."

"What about her, are we supposed to guess what you're talking about just by how you said her name?" Yang asked lightheartedly.

Weiss shot her a glare. "Last night, Ruby and I became… involved. I just wanted to assure you I have the best intentions. I will make sure-"

"No." Yang said

"I'm sorry?" Weiss responded, shocked at being shot down so quickly.

"I said, no."

"Yang be reasonable." Blake interjected.

"I am being way more reasonable than I should be. You saw her and Ruby yesterday. For all that "I don't deserve to live!" guilt talk of hers, she didn't question it when Ruby kissed her, did she? If she really felt guilty she would stay the hell away from her! Ruby-"

"Was worse off without Weiss than with her." Blake interrupted. "You saw what she was like after Weiss left Beacon. Maybe this could be good for her. For both of them. At least give it a chance." Blake said

"But how do we know she won't just take off like she did before. She's just like Raven! She left and just expects us to take her back like all the years she was gone don't matter. Well they do! I'm tired of people just up and leaving!" Yang shouted.

"Yang, I'm sorry I left. If I could take it back, I would in an instant. I thought I needed to do it. My father's approval was as important to me as finding your mother was to you."

"But I would never abandon my friends. That's the difference between us. Our priorities. You're too focused on what you don't have you never looked around you and saw what you DID have. A family. We all loved you Weiss. We loved you and you just left us like we didn't matter. Like Ruby didn't matter. It crushed her, and I won't let you do it to her again!"

"I know. Believe me, I know. I have a lot to make up for. But please Yang, believe me, I'm trying to make up for it. You need to see that. If not for me, but because Ruby want's this just as much as I do."

"… I'll try. If Ruby really wants you, then I can at least try for her."

"I also think that… I think you should give Raven a chance. She's trying just as much as I am to make up for leaving you. Just give her the chance you gave me."

"Don't push it Schnee. Just because you and me are ok-ish doesn't mean I'm ready to forgive her too."

"Just think about it."

"Drop it Weiss. It's gonna be a long time before I'm ready open that can of worms."

"Fine. If you really want to I'll back off, but you'll need to talk to her sooner or later. Don't forget who saved Yin and Velvet."

"… I know. But it's not that easy to forget, y'know?"

"I do. I understand what it's like too fight as hard as you can for a parent your whole life, just to be disappointed by them in the end."

"Yeah, I guess you would. So, Ruby's gonna see the doc today, right?"

"Yes-" Weiss paused as her scroll chimed the text message tone "That should be her right now"

Looking down to read the text, her eyes shot up quickly, looking to Yang, giving her a suspicious gaze, before going back down to her scroll, typing a reply.

"Hi weiss! XOXOXO"

"Yang? Why are you texting me?"

"It's not yang, it's ME!"

"Yes, because that absolutely gives away who's texting… It's you Ruby, isn't it?"

"YUP!:) I swiped yangs scroll while she wasn't looking. She never changes the password on this thing. Howdya know it wuz me?"

"Your texts radiate a certain particular type of 'Dunce-ocity'"

"UR so silly. Thats not a word weiss. Whos the dunce now?"

"Still you, now get ready, the specialist should be here any minute now."

"Can do! Be down in a sec ;)"

Just as Ruby's final message appeared, the doorbell rang, swiftly followed by her butler's footsteps racing to answer it. After ushering her inside to the dining area, where Weiss was waiting, the butler took his leave, leaving Weiss alone with her, as they both waited for Ruby to come down, after 10 minutes of small talk, Weiss got up and excused herself to check on Ruby. As she reached Ruby's room she noticed a strange smell wafting from the room. Almost like smoke. Panicking, Weiss, yanked open the door to see Cinder in the room, holding Ruby in a tight hug. As Cinder noticed Weiss in the room, she released Ruby and gave her small smile.

"Well hello there Mrs. Schnee. I'll try not to disrupt your schedule for the day too much, but I've got some missing property to retrieve. Did you really think you could keep her from me? You left her the first chance you got and broke my Rose's heart."

"Weiss, help me." Said Ruby, who was shaking in fear, tears streaming down her eyes. Once again, Weiss was reminded how much she hated Cinder. Ruby fought Beowolves and other abominations of Grimm for a living, yet she was so timid in the face of this woman who had tormented her. Weiss shook with rage imagining the pain Ruby must have endured, and here Cinder was, ready to begin Ruby's torment anew. She would have stabbed her already, if she had Myrternaster with her. Oh well, She'll get more satisfaction tearing Cinder apart with her hands anyway.

"Shush my little Rose, it will all be ok. I know I hurt you, but I had your best interests at heart. If you just stopped fighting everything would be ok."

"I won't let you turn her into some perverse doll for your enjoyment. She's not a pet, and she's not a plaything. Ruby is a kind caring person. She's the best human being I'll ever know, and I love her more than anything. So if you try to lay one hand on her again, I'll ensure that you suffer a thousand times worse than what you put Ruby through. Now Ruby, come over here, get behind me."

A flurry a rose petals shot out as Ruby darted behind her. Cinder merely smiled.

"While you were gone, my Rose, I often wondered why you clung to Weiss so. She abandoned you. She left you behind. Used you for your affections and when she got tired of you she just went running back to daddy. She left you, just like your mother did when she died, just like Blake and Yang did when they had a child, leaving you behind. The story of your life, really. It's what drew me to you. I saw how sad you were and I knew I needed to make it better. Because I knew I would never abandon you. So come on, Ruby, come here, and if you promise to be good, you won't get hurt, you'll be rewarded. I'll make sure to be there whenever you need me. You and me, happily ever after, just like in those stories you liked to read back when we were together. You know, I read those stories while you were gone. They reminded me of you, you see. I know why you liked them. All those fairy tales about a person saving themselves from imprisonment. As I read them I knew that you were the girl who saves herself from the tower she was locked in. and I knew that you wanted to be saved. From that miserable life that She and all of her little cohorts dragged you back into. I knew you read them because you were happy that I'd saved you from your own tower, so come on, let me save you again."

As she approached Ruby and Weiss, Ruby began to back away, tripping over herself to try and escape her. Cinder finally lost her smile at seeing Ruby's fear.

"Fine. We'll do this the uncivilized way then." Charging Weiss she easily threw her to the ground. Shoving a high heeled boot over her throat, she looked to Ruby once more. "Come with me right now, or I kill her."

There was no hesitation. With a sad nod she approached Cinder. Weiss, seeing the defeat in Ruby's eyes, began to fight and struggle, only to be picked up and thrown against the wall by Cinder, now holding a remote. "Tsk tsk tsk. I would think the safety of your friends and family would be far more important to you. Oh, didn't I mention this? It's a remote to a specialized dust infused explosive device hidden under your mansion. Oh, it won't destroy the whole house, but I made sure it would incinerate a few people you've only just reconnected with. They're such a lovely couple, the Belladonna-Long's. And their little girl! Such a cutie. And for that life to be cut short all because of your selfishness… it would be such a tragedy."

Weiss fought against Cinder's grip to get the remote, but she was pinned. Realizing she was beaten, she took one last look at Ruby. Looking into her eyes, seeing the fear there, she found new resolve. She made one last attempt to break free, bringing her fist into Cinder's gut. Cinder merely shrugged of the blow and threw her into Ruby's bed, where Weiss saw Yang's scroll laying on the floor. Quickly a plan formed in her mind, but she would have to act fast. It was now or never.

"Enough games Schnee. Give it up."

"Fine. But I'm coming for you. I will get Ruby back Cinder. Just as soon as I get everyone to safety, away from Blake and Yang's room, I'll hunt you down."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Nothing will stop me, you came into Ruby's room, you terrified her. You hurt her. I'll make you pay. You're an absolute monster, and what's worse is that you're a deluded one. And that's where you fail. You'd never risk killing Ruby. That bomb, if it even does exist, can't pack that much firepower can it?"

"Do you really want to find out?"

"No, I just wanted to let you know you're slipping. The old Cinder I fought when I was at Beacon wouldn't relent to save just one person. You've gotten easy to read."

"Blah blah blah. Can we just get this over with? Ruby, I know you're scared but you need to come over here." Cinder said approaching the window, clearly her planned escape route. "Please, you need to come with me little Rose."

"like hell she will."

Heat flooded the room as Yang and Blake entered Yang's eyes almost glowing red.

"How did-?" Cinder sputtered.

"I can answer that." Weiss interrupted, holding up Yang' scroll. She looked to Yang. "Is everyone safe?"

"I think so. We didn't have a lot of time to get what your call was all about, but everyone is getting to safety now."

"What about Yin?"

"Raven's got her. I don't like it, but she's safe."

"We'll see." Cinder said, a vicious grin on her face. She raised the detonator, and clicked the button.


	12. Chapter 11

AN:I do not own RWBY, that would be Roosterteeth. I also do not own the AU's I use as a base for this story, those being Machinekey's Company Woman, Ailtern's Fallen Scars, and Funblade's Future AU.

It didn't matter how powerful the explosive Cinder set off really was in the end, because it had a secondary feature she kept hidden as an ace in the hole. Weiss had guessed properly, it wasn't designed for maximum damage, but instead did something far more devious. Rare dust, mixed in the correct way, created a blast that not only shook the mansion, but also briefly separated anyone in the blast radius from their aura, their very soul. The sudden separation was more disorienting than any stun bomb. It still packed enough explosive power behind it to throw everyone occupying the mansion to the floor, disorientating them as they scrambled to get back on their feet. Their ears ringing, the feeling of pure wrong that the people affected by the bomb were feeling was enough to make quite a few of them nauseous, and those who managed to fight the affects were still barely able to stand, shocked to their cores by the feeling of having their souls ripped from their bodies, even temporarily.

Weiss stumbled forward, fighting the explosion's effects as best as she could, determined not to let Cinder get away. Through the dust, she could see Cinder just ahead of her, Ruby with her, who was trying her best to escape Cinder's grasp. Luckily for Ruby, Cinder seemed to be just as affected by the explosion as everyone else, and with a well-placed kick to Cinders gut, she pulled herself away, falling to the floor in the process. She crawled along the floor, making her way towards Weiss. Weiss pulled her to her feet, letting her lean on her shoulder as they made their way towards the exit for the room. The further they got, the more they began having to lean on each other for support as the fatigue the bomb left them with took its toll. Coco was the first person to make it to Ruby and Weiss, offering extra support to keep the two from collapsing. Turning her attention to the people around her, Weiss could see Yang holding a crying Blake, stroking her hair as blood trickled from beneath her bow. She ignored her pain however, holding her daughter in her arms, both parents trying to comfort their child as she screamed from a shock that had brought experienced hunters and huntresses to their knees.

"What the hell was that?" said Weiss' father, his head between his legs as he tried his best to keep down bile. The question was something Weiss couldn't answer at that moment, so she focused on what she could do. Scanning the area behind her, she saw Cinder moving down the hall, trying her best to shake off the effects of the blast, and doing a better job of it than most. Scanning the room around her, she took stock of the people she saw who had recovered the best. Motioning for Pyrrha and Ren to join her from where they were taking care of Jaune and Nora, she patted Yang on the shoulder, motioning for her to join them.

Seeing the beaten up group in front of her, Cinder smiled cruelly. She was going to have fun. Firing a fireball to the floor in front of them she charged, her fatigue forgotten. Blinded by the fireball's impact her foes couldn't see well enough to stop her as she leapt at Weiss. With no weapon to speak of she was the easiest target. Still disoriented and off balance, she made short work of the out of practice huntress. With a few quick hand to hand strikes Weiss' guard fell apart. Finishing her off with a kick to the chest, Weiss flew back into Ren. Both of them impacted against the wall with an audible thump. Moving onto Pyrrha, who unlike Weiss, was armed, she closed the distance, firing another fireball as she changed. Pyrrha raised her shield to block the dangerous blast of flame, and that was when Cinder made her move. With a swift spin kick, she knocked aside Pyrrha's sword before moving in for the kill. Just before Cinder could finish her off, Yang intervened with shotgun powered punch to her back that threw her several feet back. Rolling to her feet Cinder fired another blast at Pyrrha, who barely manage to raise her shield in time.

"You know Nikos, I always admired you. You've got such drive and passion. It's a pity then, what I'm about to do to you all. I imagine it'll hurt like an arrow to the heart."

"Well that was oddly specific." Pyrrha said

"Yeah" Yang added "I mean it's like saying 'that car hit me and it felt like getting trampled by a heard of polar bears.' It just kinda comes out of nowhere."

"You're an idiot, which is why I'm gonna enjoy turning you to ash."

"Oh see that's much bette-WOAH!" Yang shouted as she was

Leaping at Pyrrha, Cinder pushed off the warrior's shield, sending herself flying into Yang. She opened with a spin kick aimed at Yang's face but the huntress easily countered with a block with her left gauntlet. Taking advantage of the opening, Yang grabbed Cinder's left and swung her opponent into the wall behind her. Cinder reached out and stopped herself against the wall before her face crashed into it, and countered with a kick to Yang's stomach with her free leg, sending them both crashing to the floor. Leaping over Yang's crumpled form, Pyrrha attacked Cinder with an overhead strike from Milo, hoping to take advantage of the opening Cinder left as she stumbled to her feet, only for a shower of sparks to catch her in her face as Cinder dodged out of the way. Cinder was about to finish her with a blast of fire before turning the energy into a shield to block a spray of bullets sent at her by Ren.

"Y'know getting ganged up on is just no fun." Cinder said.

"Well that's what you get for taking on multiple huntresses, and Ren, when they all want to kill you."

"What can I say," Cinder smiled "The things I do for love."

Flipping to her left, she shot a stream of fire into the floor her opponents were standing on. Ren and Pyrrha leapt back while Yang summersaulted through the air towards Cinder, shouting "Enough with the fire already"

Landing on her feet she barely managed to evade an axe kick aimed at her, before she was caught in the stomach by a spin kick. Yang smiled as she felt the pain rise in her chest. Every bit of punishment she took became more power that she can unleash on the bitch that had hurt her little girl. While Yang got back on her feet, Cinder threw up a wall of fire in a semi-circle directly in front of her which Yang had every intention of running straight through, but as Yang neared the circle, a silver glyph appeared directly in front of her. Grinning at Weiss' support, she used the glyph to propel her over the flame and behind Cinder. Before Cinder could prepare herself she was caught in a flurry up punches, each shot of pain punctuated with the signature BANG of Ember Celica, all while Yang shouted at her. "This one's for my sister, that is for my wife, this is for my little girl, and this it to remind you do not fuck with my family!"

Yang finished her off with a dual blast from her gauntlets, sending her to the floor. Cinder looked up, blood flowing into her vision, barely able to see herself getting surrounded by Pyrrha, Yang, Ren, and an ethereal silver knight. Knowing she was outmatched and outnumbered, she, in an act of desperation, fired a blast of fire at everything flammable in the room she could see. Before the people around her could do anything, the hallway was engulfed in flame, threatening to consume the house. As they moved to fight the fire back, using ice dust to slow its spread as best they could, Cinder leapt to her feet, smashing through a nearby window, setting anything in her path alight. Retreating down the hall towards the rest of the group, those who had recovered enough to help joined the hunters, Coco and Nora covering the hallway in ice, but any progress they made was made negligible as Cinder hammered the manor from outside, intent on using everything she had to reduce the Schnee's home to cinders.

Looking to her father, Weiss spoke "We need to go. She'll burn the house to the ground at this rate."

August nodded solemnly. He was reluctant to leave and let his home burn to the ground. Schnees are prideful, after all, but he also knew when to retreat. They moved through the hallways of the once flawless manor house, heat and smoke turning what once was a magnificent example of the Schnee families power into a smoking wreck. They rushed through the hallway, passing by decades of Weiss' family history as it turned to ash around them, servants rushing out of smoke filled rooms. A maid rushed out of a nearby bedroom, crashing into Velvet. Seeing the group in front of her, she said "I took my daughter to work with me. I couldn't afford a sitter, please I need to find her. I took my eyes off her for just a second!"

Weiss nodded. "We'll find her. Don't worry." A moment later a blast of fire tore apart a nearby wall, causing a part of the second floor near it to cave in. Weiss felt a hand grab her shoulder. Looking to the owner of the hand, she saw Ruby's face, wearing a small confident smile. "You guys won't be able to make it AND get the staff out. I'm the only one fast enough. Get these guys out of here." Ruby said, looking to the rest of the group. "I'll look for anyone still in the mansion."

Weiss was hesitant, but nodded nonetheless. "Be careful Ruby. Please."

Ruby's smile grew brighter. Weiss was reminded that this was Ruby's element. She lived to help people. "Go. I got this." was all Ruby said before disappearing around the corner, a swarm of rose petals coming into existence behind her, before bursting into flame as they neared the fire.

Weiss gazed after her in worry, before the turning to the rest of the group, beckoning them onwards. The smoke was thick and clouded their vision, but Weiss had grown up in this house. She knew every hallway and every room. In less than a minute, the group threw open the front door and rushed out into the waiting arms of the firemen. A loud thump rang out behind them, and Weiss barely caught a glimpse of Ruby dropping off a maid outside before rushing back in.

It went on like that for several more minutes as Ruby deposited more trapped staff members onto the front steps of the house, only to dart back in to search for more survivors. Every time Ruby appeared, Weiss' worry would dissipate, only to build back up as she charged headlong back into the flames over and over again. After almost an hour, a little girl came running out of the front doors and into the arms of the maid who they had helped on their way out. The flames had finally died down under the firefighters constant water barrage. Running to the girl, Weiss barged her way through the small crowd of medics and got on her knees in front of her.

"Excuse me, did you see a woman with red hair and silver eyes in the house?

"Oh you mean the lady that makes those pretty rose petals? She helped get me out of kitchen when I couldn't get the door open, and then she fell over in there, but don't worry! The nice lady with the red dress said she'd save her!" the girl finished with a bright smile.

Ending AN: so um… yeah, another cliffhanger. SorryImnotsorry. I am sorry for letting this story go without an update for so long. All I can say is that life has, and continues to, get in the way. My grandmother is getting worse and requires more attentive care. Not to mention some Game of Thrones level family disputes. It's made things hard for me to have any free time. I'll try to be better about this, I promise. Also, please let me know how I write fight scenes, this is my first real attempt at one.


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